The Teardown Squad at Nikkei Electronics has dismantled the iPhone 2G and 3G models to compare component placements and reduction in costs.

SHOWCASE: The Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad has put up a feature story showing the difference of the internal structure between the iPhone 2G and the iPhone 3G.

What the team had done is to disassemble the iPhone 3G and compare its components with those found in the the 2G model. While on the outside, both models look similar, engineers found that Apple had taken some measures to reduce the mounting area and parts costs with the 3G model.

What the engineers found is that the 2G model had its main parts mounted on both sides of a frame in the center of the chassis while the 3G model had parts placed on the back cover of the chassis.

The back cover of the 3G model is made of resin, which allows engineers to place the main antenna for W-CDMA and GSM, and a sub-antenna for wireless LAN, Bluetooth and GPS at various locations.

According to the team, display performance on the 2G model is actually better than the 3G model. This is because the display area of the 3G model comprises of the chassis cover, touch panel and LCD panel — which are not integrated — creating a layer of air between the LCD panel and touch panel.

On the 2G model, the chassis cover, LCD panel and touch panel are bonded by resin. This method enhances display performance because reflections from external sources and backlight are reduced.