So, finally we have a tear down of the BlackBerry z10 after its been launched in the global market for a week or so now. Here, UBMTechInsights has done a great job of tearing down the BlackBerry Z10 for all of us to see, and even stacking up the components to the current market competition. As we patiently wait, let’s see what is in store for us.

Take note, however, there are 5 models of the BlackBerry z10.

1. STL100-1 RFG81UW model: (Known to be for Indo only, but will head to non-lte regions – To be made in Mexico?)
   – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100
2. STL100-2 RFH121LW model:
   – HSDPA 850 / 900 / 2100
   – LTE 800 / 900 / 1800 / 2600
3. STL100-3 RFF91LW/RFK121LW model:
   – HSDPA 800 / 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
   – LTE 700 / 850 / 1700 / 1900
4. STL100-4 RFA91LW model: (CDMA ONLY MODEL – CONFIRM NOT FOR SG!)
   – CDMA 800 / 1900, HSDPA 900 / 2100
   – LTE 700 MHz Class 13

In this case, it is the STL100-3, RFF91LW being stripped. This may or may not be the model we are getting so take it as a reference only.

The summary of chipsets found:

Samsung K3PE0E000A – Multichip Memory – 2 GB Mobile DDR2 SDRAM
Samsung KLMAG2GE4A – Multichip Memory – 16 GB MLC NAND Flash, Controller
Qualcomm MSM8960 – Snapdragon S4 Baseband / Applications Processor
Qualcomm WCD9310 – Audio Codec
Qualcomm PM8921 – Power Management IC
Qualcomm RTR8600 – GSM / CDMA / W-CDMA / LTE RxD Transceiver + GPS
Texas Instruments WL1273L – Single-Chip 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN, Bluetooth, and FM
TriQuint TQP6M9017 – Dual-Band WLAN Module
RF Micro Devices RF7252 – CDMA/WCDMA BAND 2 Linear Power Amplifier Module
RF Micro Devices RF7303 – LTE/UMTS/CDMA BAND 3 Linear Power Amplifier Module
Inside Secure SECUREAD IC5C633I4- NFC Solution Module
Avago ACPM-5017 – LTE Band XVII Power Amplifier
Avago ACPM-7051 – Quad-Band GSM / W-CDMA Bands I & V Power Amplifier
Sony CXM3582UR – SP10T Antenna Switch
ST Microelectronics LIS3DH – MEMS Accelerometer
STMicroelectronics LSM330DLC – 3D Accelerometer & 3D Gyroscope
Synaptics Clearpad 3203 – Capacitive Touchscreen Controller

Qualcomm seems to be a big winner here, marking a shift away from the TI chipsets we saw BlackBerry use when they were handing out the BlackBerry Dev Alphas. As far as we know, 4 models will host the Qualcomm chipsets and 1 model (nonlte) will host the TI chipsets. How will this hold true to the other variants as well, I guess we got to wait for someone to sponsor the various sets for a tear down!

Just for your info, Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE uses the following parts, identical to z10:
PM8921 power management IC (same as Tab 2 as well), RTR8600 multi-mode transceiver and GPS (same as the latest generation iPad as well), Qualcomm WCD9310 audio chipset.

Also found in the Blackberry Z10 is Qualcomm’s WCD9310 audio codec. This relatively new device was also found in the Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE.

Well, only the USA version for the Galaxy S3 is using the same chipset as the international is using Wolfson WM1811. A notable change from the original BlackBerry PlayBook and Dev Alpha’s Wolfson WM8994 chipset. The Wolfson chipsets were good and well known within the audio community. But how does this new chipset par?

Reached out to the USA version of the S3 and local S3 (international), we realized, yes there is a difference. Whilst everyday users might not notice, the wolfson chip does give more body/warmth to the audio. In fact, clarity wise, wolfson still holds the upper hand. But that said, we applied neutron music player to get the best sound out of the devices without rooting. This can also be applied to BlackBerry 10, which we will be 🙂

We shall leave the rest of our comments for our own review later 😉

Via UBMTechInsights