Before we get inside, it's worth mentioning that Samsung has fixed the two big problems with the original. The trackpad now works properly (can it really have been so hard to get right? It's not like trackpads are new tech) and the battery life is now a good long 8 hours. It is also a little faster thanks to its Atom N570 processor, and — according to iFixit CEO Kyle “The Can-Opener” Wiens — looks a lot better. I'm a sucker for clunky, utilitarian design, so I actually prefer the old one.
Then we dive inside the device. It's possible to disassemble the whole thing with the spudger, a plastic opening tool, and a Phillips number 1 screwdriver.
The Series 5 is put together a lot like a vanilla netbook, with standard slot-in parts for things like Wi-Fi and 3G WWAN. The 16GB SanDisk SSD is also a standard plug-in module, so it should be possible to upgrade if you want to. In the pictures above, you can see the insides of both the new Chromebook and the original Cr48 for comparison.
Ifixit gives the Series 5 3G Chromebook a Repairability Score of 6 out of 10. Not bad. Be sure to check out the full teardown, complete with “huge” photographs of each step.
Samsung Series 5 3G Chromebook Teardown [iFixit. thanks, Kyle!]
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