The Echo Look
I’m working on a full review-type-thing of the Look, but who really cares about that? I’m sure people will want to see the insides of it, though.
The most interesting two things on it are an Intel RealSense SR300 module (minus its visible light camera), and what’s basically a full Intel PC motherboard. In fact, here are the main specs:
- Intel Atom x5-Z8350 (SR2KT) @ 1.44Ghz (1.91Ghz burst)
- 8GB Samsung eMMC Flash NAND Storage
- 8GB Elpida LPDDR3 RAM
- Broadcom 802.11ac + 802.11b/g/a/n + Bluetooth (Not sure of the version)
The hardware is fantastically made and well put together, and overall is very clever considering they stuffed all of it into a diminutive cylinder!
The Reassembly
I did put the Look back together after all was said and done. And I think there were only like 2 screws left over! :]
Unfortunately it didn’t work for very long, nor very reliably. Something about hacking off all the shielding and generally manhandling all the components maybe had something to do with it.
But if you wanted to see a Look’s boot-up and camera sequence with its proverbial shirt off (the LEDs being the only real aspect of interest), then here’s your chance! Yay.
IC List
This is by no means comprehensive, but it covers all the major stuff with applicable part numbers:
- Intel Atom x5-Z8350 (SR2KT)
- Samsung 8GB Flash NAND (KLM8G1GEME)
- Elpida 8GB LPDDR3 (F8164A3MA-GD-F)
- TI PMIC (SND9039A2)
- Winbond 16mbit Flash Memory (25Q16FW1Q)
- Intel RealSense (SR300)
- Broadcom WLAN + BT (BCM43570KFFB8)
- Dual Diaphragm Speaker (?)
- Camera – 1080p? (?)
- Discrete microphones x 4 (?)
Closeups
Here are some shots of the components. I’m warning you, the linked files are fairly hi-res, so beware if you’re on a low-power mobile device. But hey, at least you’ll get some good detail.
If you’re curious as to the relative scale of each component, the full-size photos were all shot using the same camera setup and position. This means that there’s pretty much a 1:1 correspondence in scale between the various images. (Not true for the thumbnails, tho.)
Also of interest:
- The “flash” illumination LEDs consist of 4 pairs of warm and cool white. As such, the Look can output light at varying color temperatures, probably in the area of 2700K – 5000K (that’s just a guess). From looking at high frame rate video, it appears that they are PWM-controlled, so the 4 LEDs of each temperature could be set to varying degrees of apparent brightness.
- The blue “Echo ring” LED packages have red, green, and blue chips (sorta your standard RGB dealies). There are only 6 of them, but they do a very good job of making a convincingly smooth chasing effect when viewed through the front cover.
- The WiFi (and possibly BT) antennae are at the bottom of the unit.
Stay Tuned
As I get questions and/or investigate further on my own impetus, I’ll update this page. And as I said, there’s a forthcoming “full” review of the Look. Don’t forget to subscribe and yadda yadda yadda follow blech burp social media blah blah. (Just google ScottDotDot if you really want to.)
