Stating that a device is "designed and manufactured in the USA" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be a purely American production. Kyle Wiens and his team at iFixit took apart Google's Nexus Q media streamer, and found that the company sourced several of the Q's components from China, Japan, and other worldwide suppliers.
This is consistent with what Google told Wired: The device's silicon was sourced from overseas suppliers, but most of its circuit boards and chassis pieces are made in America.
Of the Nexus Q's overseas parts, the iFixit guys first found a NXP Semiconductors 44501 Near-Field Communications Controller, which could be manufactured in Germany, China, United Kingdom, Netherlands, or Singapore. And there's also a TXC 8.00 MHz Crystal Quartz Oscillator, manufactured in Taiwan or China.
Other non-U.S., and potentially non-U.S., components include controllers for USB, Ethernet and power management, among others. All these chips could have been manufactured in sundry global locations -- iFixit notes Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea, India, Germany, and the Philippines as possible source countries. It all varies on a chip-by-chip basis.
But all these silicon bits notwithstanding, Google did design Nexus Q in the U.S. and assembled it all in a plant not far from the company's Mountain View headquarters. The main components of the device, like the Q's two hemisphere pieces, were made in America. Considering the supply chain of silicon chips, it would be all but impossible to make a 100 percent U.S.-made consumer electronics gadget in this day and age.
And at least the Q is easy to fix. The spinning dome top isn't glued or screwed into the base, so you can just pull it off with your hands. It took the iFixit team only six steps to get to the core of the media streaming device.
iFixit gave the Nexus Q an 8 out of 10 repairability score, indicating that it's among the easiest devices to fix. The Q is straightforward to disassemble, very few parts are soldered together, and you need only a few tools to take it apart. But there is a drawback: The Nexus Q includes so many individual, tightly packed pieces, you might lose some while taking it apart. Lastly, the power supply is exposed to anyone who cracks open the ball. Google even warns: "Risk of electrical shock. Do not open." This makes it a bit more dangerous to repair.
Nexus Q Teardown [iFixit]
