News & Analysis
Teardown slideshow: Inside the Nintendo 3DS
Dylan McGrath
3/29/2011 3:56 PM EDT
The following is a slideshow of images created during a teardown analysis of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s new 3DS handheld gaming system performed by analysts at UBM TechInsights.
UBM TechInsights said earlier this week revealed that it found within the 3DS two Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd. fast-cycle RAM (FCRAM) memories. It was the first time UBM TechInsights found the proprietary Fujitsu technology in a teardown.
On Tuesday (March 29), UBM TechInsights provided a fuller listing of the parts found inside the 3DS during the teardown. In addition to the listed parts, UBM TechInsights said the handheld features a primary 3-D display and secondary touchscreen display made by Sharp Electronics Corp., thee VGA cameras and a 3.7 volt, 1,300 mAh lithium-ion battery.
"Generally, what we’re seeing here is a traditional Nintendo handheld design," said Allan Yogasingam, a technical marketing manager at UBM TechInsights. Yogasingam said the teardown found Nintendo standbys such as Atheros Communications Inc., NEC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others that have supplied parts to Nintendos previous handhelds such as the DSi and the DS XL.
Click on image to enlarge/expand.
Yogasingam said Nintendo took a gutsy approach by choosing a Sharp parallel autostereoscopic 3-D display technology, which does not require 3-D glasses. "But in playing some of the games, the feeling of 3-D feels very organic," Yogasingam said.
Yogasingam said going with Fujitsu's FCRAM over LPDDR2 DRAM was one of the few riskier design choices Nintendo took. According to Fujitsu, FCRAM offers similar power consumption to that of LPDRR2, but with performance that matches DDR3 DRAM.
Because FCRAM is a proprietary Fujitsu technology, some analysts, including those at market research firm IHS iSuppli, have warned that its inclusion could create problems for Nintendo. Consumer electronics vendors typically prefer to choose commodity memories over single-source parts for many reasons, including price.
"Having quick access memory for their processor must have been appealing enough to Nintendo to take the risk of single-sourcing the memory," Yogasingam said. "Unlike LPDDR2, which has numerous manufacturers like Elpida, Hynix and Samsung, FCRAM is proprietary to Fujitsu. In the event that recent events like the earthquake or tsunami in Japan affected production to Fujitsu, Nintendo faces a risk of overall production delays."
UBM TechInsights is owned by United Business Media, the parent company of EE Times.
UBM TechInsights said earlier this week revealed that it found within the 3DS two Fujitsu Semiconductor Ltd. fast-cycle RAM (FCRAM) memories. It was the first time UBM TechInsights found the proprietary Fujitsu technology in a teardown.
On Tuesday (March 29), UBM TechInsights provided a fuller listing of the parts found inside the 3DS during the teardown. In addition to the listed parts, UBM TechInsights said the handheld features a primary 3-D display and secondary touchscreen display made by Sharp Electronics Corp., thee VGA cameras and a 3.7 volt, 1,300 mAh lithium-ion battery.
"Generally, what we’re seeing here is a traditional Nintendo handheld design," said Allan Yogasingam, a technical marketing manager at UBM TechInsights. Yogasingam said the teardown found Nintendo standbys such as Atheros Communications Inc., NEC Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and others that have supplied parts to Nintendos previous handhelds such as the DSi and the DS XL.
Click on image to enlarge/expand.
Yogasingam said Nintendo took a gutsy approach by choosing a Sharp parallel autostereoscopic 3-D display technology, which does not require 3-D glasses. "But in playing some of the games, the feeling of 3-D feels very organic," Yogasingam said.
Yogasingam said going with Fujitsu's FCRAM over LPDDR2 DRAM was one of the few riskier design choices Nintendo took. According to Fujitsu, FCRAM offers similar power consumption to that of LPDRR2, but with performance that matches DDR3 DRAM.
Because FCRAM is a proprietary Fujitsu technology, some analysts, including those at market research firm IHS iSuppli, have warned that its inclusion could create problems for Nintendo. Consumer electronics vendors typically prefer to choose commodity memories over single-source parts for many reasons, including price.
"Having quick access memory for their processor must have been appealing enough to Nintendo to take the risk of single-sourcing the memory," Yogasingam said. "Unlike LPDDR2, which has numerous manufacturers like Elpida, Hynix and Samsung, FCRAM is proprietary to Fujitsu. In the event that recent events like the earthquake or tsunami in Japan affected production to Fujitsu, Nintendo faces a risk of overall production delays."
UBM TechInsights is owned by United Business Media, the parent company of EE Times.
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Robotics Developer
3/30/2011 6:54 PM EDT
I would love to try one, if I could just get my hands on a unit... Sigh, maybe someday my kids will get one for themselves. I am still not convinced that 3D is worthwhile, time will tell.
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StevePxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3/31/2011 4:00 PM EDT
Organic feelings?
""the feeling of 3-D feels very organic"".
I've worked in the display business for
more than 20 years and can't imagine what
this person is talking about.
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rick.merritt
3/31/2011 11:31 PM EDT
So does Nintendo have an ARM architecture license? Love to know more about the SoC.
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Duane Benson
4/1/2011 2:38 PM EDT
My son (a fairly technical HS age kid) spent some time on one these things belonging to a friend of his. According to him, it's a 100% win. He's very impressed with the 3D, as well as the way the cameras can be used and real images can be merged with animation.
It's hard to say if those are just gimmick features that won't stand the test of time or if they are truly long lasting revolutions.
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