Gartner analysts John Barber and Jon Erensen lead a light-hearted but informative tour through the innards of an Apple iPhone. Their verdict: iPhone is a rugged mix of widely used and innovative components, stirred with Apple's engineering and software prowess to create a device that will not be imitated anytime soon.

During the presentation, Barber tore down the iPhone while Erensen explained the engineering and features. Their first finding: it's tough. Barber was hard pressed to remove the screws holding together the case, tearing it open to get at the components inside.

Inside, phone, networking, and iPod components nestle around the large battery. Erensen noted that Apple made a number of tradeoffs - no user-replaceable battery or flash memory, a basic 2 megapixel camera - to keep cost and performance of the device reasonable. The components themselves are for the most part not the latest and greatest, but pieces chosen for their integration of functions and wide availability.

Where the iPhone does get innovative is its use of proximity and ambient light sensors, an accelerometer and the capacitive touch screen to deliver some of its already iconic user interface features.

Barber and Erensen estimate that the components cost Apple $180, for a device that retails for $399. No wonder why Apple has in short order become the design leader in the mobile phone space.

(ed. note: above photo taken with iPhone)

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