CNET Networks' TechRepublic site runs a regular series called "Cracking Open" in which it takes a look inside a variety of gadgets. ZDNet.com.au is publishing this excerpt.

BlackBerry's latest model is the BlackBerry Curve 8310. Not only is it a mobile phone and an e-mail and text-messaging workhorse, it also features a media player, Web browser, integrated GPS, and a 2-megapixel camera in an amazingly small and trim package. I tried to get it to clean my bathroom, but to no avail -- maybe next year's model will accommodate me. The size and feel of the Curve seems just right for a device that houses so many features.

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It's always a good idea to open the battery hatch as a starting point for disassembling any electronic device.

The back panel slides off very easily. Here we find the primary circuit board and a shallow housing for the lithium-ion battery. There is also a slot for a MicroSD memory card so that you can expand upon the 64MB of onboard memory and carry more media and data.

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The first two screws come out without much effort, but all that does is free up the right and left side grips. And they are still attached to the bottom of the casing.

We have no problem removing the bottom microphone cover, so we hope that makes it easier to remove the faceplate from the side grips. Once the microphone plate is off, the front case pops off easily and the rubber keyboard lifts off without any effort.

Finally, after removing four internal screws, the side grips come off easily.

The top two internal screws also allow the framing for the LCD screen to lift away, though it still seems to be hinged at the top. The trackball and phone buttons, attached to the keyboard base, also pull away.

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This is the Curve with its face plate removed; you can see how thin the plate that holds the LCD display in is.

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Here we see the Curve's primary circuit board separated from the backside casing, which contains a few electronic components itself.

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We didn't get to test the Curve's speakerphone capabilities, but the speaker certainly looks hefty.

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For all the features in the Curve, this small circuit board does a lot of heavy lifting.

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Here's what the exposed camera lens and headphone jack look like.

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Here we can see how thin the LCD screen really is; about as thin as several sheets of paper stacked together. The LCD screen is held to the circuit board with a small amount of weak adhesive.

Credit: John Lee/CNET Networks