The Zipit Z2
First we slide a plastic card to separate the dark gray plastic piece behind the screen from Zipit Using a plastic card will avoid scratching the case. In this case, I used a Borders key chain membership card I found on the sidewalk. This will expose three screws behind the screen and the ribbon connector for the screen that I would suggest not messing with. Remove those three screws. The top two are slightly shorter than the bottom one.
Now you will need to use a slotted screwdriver to pop the plastic snap loose that is shown in the picture. Don’t force it too hard but it IS fairly tight so you’ll have to use a bit more force than you’d normally expect. Now that you have that nice gap, wedge your plastic card in place and slide it down the lcd housing. There should be four plastic snaps that you will be able to work lose. Notice the little magnet towards the top of the picture? That’s what makes the Zipit stay closed nicely.
After I get this far with it, I like to flip it over and crack the bottom case. The battery needs to come out if you haven’t already done so. There are three screws under it. Go ahead and pop those out. After you’ve done that, it’s time to start prying with your plastic card. I like to start at the back near the hinges since I seem to be able to wedge my card in there the best and get the case to flex the furthest. I’ve tried it from the SD slot as well but it’s hard to get enough leverage that we since you don’t have the screen to hold onto from that side. There are four of those snap tabs that are holding the bottom case together.
After you have the bottom separated, go back to the top. There is a small piece of plastic that is in the hinge section. You can now pop that off from underneath if you need to or whatever other angle. After it’s off, you’ll need to pry upward as shown in the picture. After it’s popped loose, you need to slide the whole back/upper half of the LCD housing towards the side you are prying from. There is a small lip on the back half that is keeping it in place. Similar to the lip near where the screwdriver is prying in the picture. That’s it! There is one extra piece that rkdavis insists is necessary but I’ve been using mine fine without it for a month now so you can make the final call.
Mozzwald graciously loaned me his picture of the mystery plastic piece installed in place:
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Can you elaborate on where that little plastic bit is supposed to go? I know mine works fine without it but it sort of just popped out when I took my zipit apart to solder in the serial port. I’d like to put it back one day but for the life of me cannot figure out where it goes!
According to rkdavis, it holds up and supports the corner of the motherboard. His fear is that without it, you could possibly crack your motherboard with heavy typing. I have not personally noticed any flexing though. I believe it goes on the left side of the Zipit near the power button/hinge area. rkdavis said you sort of just have to flex it in place until it goes snap.
it doesn’t go snap it sort of flops into place. without it the Z2 motherboard seems a bit flexible in that corner (iirc there is no screwbase on that side) and also the green power button seems a little sunken. You are probably fine without it but it does exist for a reason. Companies don’t go adding spurious chinks of plastic for no reason, it’s about 0.0002 cents worth of plastic that could instead be profit 🙂
Thanks for the awesome description and pics on the irc guys. I’m gonna post up my own pics on it soon too once I get in the parts to make my serial port mod prettier.
I actually did find them for cheaper- 24.99 with Free Shipping to be exact! That beats the price of our family eating out!!! Can’t wait to start hacking on it although I already have a Ben Nanonote and love it to bits. The battery on the Zipit seems less hackable…is it possible to build a new one? It uses 3.7V right, so a cell phone battery may do the job…
Ya the price has come down since I posted this blog. I’ve seen them as low as $15 which is a steal for what it does. Check the RC hobby scene for some battery options. There are plenty of flat lipos out there now.
About the mystery plastic piece:
The solution is the upper half rounded part. It forms the lower half of the hole that holds the right side of the hinge.
(if you contact me via mail, I’ll provide the photo to clear that.)
About the magnet near the Display:
It triggers a hall sensor on the mainboard to sense open/close. (at least thats my guess, from what I learned about the openpandora project)