Now THIS is innovative!

[jleebiker]

I've been following this for some time. Someone was asking about innovation. This is the MOST innovative design in handsets, since, well...forever.
Sadly though, it is bankrolled by Google and will probably never get a truly open source CPU module or the ability to use different OS's other than Droid.

I am dieing to get my hands on this. I would LOVE to try this. Think about the possibility of swapping out a module on the fly. Don't need a GPS sensor? Replace it with another battery. Don't need a camera? Replace it with a GPS sensor. Etc...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qsGTXLnmKs#t=25

*Mods, please place this in the appropriate thread and lock it if people start bashing Google. This is not a Google bashing post. It is more about the handset.

 

[godse573]

That is quite an invention. Like you could start out with the module, and basically build your own phone. They could have low specs available up to high specs, all compatible with each other. The ultimate thing they could do is make even the OS interchangeable, WP to IOS to Android. Now theres an idea!

 

[gpobernardo]

Nice...seems like they actually made it after all! I've seen this as a concept around two or three years ago. I even signed up to their site to express my interest and support. I've also read articles both on why "it is innovative" and on the other hand "why it won't work". Nonetheless, no harm in supporting an innovative idea, right? and now it seems to be several steps closer to being a reality... and their even announcing it on my birthday.

Thanks for posting this. True or not, it still looks like a viable future for smart phones.

P.S., I think this type of setup is more appropriate for Windows... since older Windows PCs (and even a lot of the new ones) literally have interchangeable and custom components.:devil:

 

[aximtreo]

Nice...seems like they actually made it after all! I've seen this as a concept around two or three years ago. I even signed up to their site to express my interest and support. I've also read articles both on why "it is innovative" and on the other hand "why it won't work". Nonetheless, no harm in supporting an innovative idea, right? and now it seems to be several steps closer to being a reality... and their even announcing it on my birthday.


Happy Birthday.

Thanks for posting this. True or not, it still looks like a viable future for smart phones.

P.S., I think this type of setup is more appropriate for Windows... since older Windows PCs (and even a lot of the new ones) literally have interchangeable and custom components.:devil:

 

[Yazen]

Seems like it would need more connectors, more blocks.. Unless you can multiple components per block, e.g would not make sense to make to have bluetooth on one block.

Like the concept, looking forward to a release.
Would love Ubuntu, Sailfish, or Tizen. Open platform, freedom of software

 

[Alfa Kapa]

Project Ara is a great idea, but I think that the technology state is not there yet at the moment.
Give the creators 2-3 years of brainstorming and we might have in our daily lifes a modular phone.

Given that computer hardware, at the current state, isn't that modular,
take for example a motherboard which have X socket type for the CPU and modules for ddrX type of RAM,
project Ara will be a huge thing not worring about compatibility!
But mobile CPU/GPU and RAM is nowhere near calling them futureproof at this moment althought in the next 5 year they might
go head to head with our current computer hardware.

Morover Project Ara's hardware after time, could be sold way cheaper than computer hardware currently does and the lifespan of our phones will far exceed that of our current phones without any hiccups and lagginess after time.
The huge problem is the device's dimensions which have to be a certain size for the modules to fit in, but I guess Ara is targeting at those people that they don't want to invest a sh*t load of money every year.

In my opinion the near future of smartphones should be like Apple did with Iphone 6 and 6+ .. (the years before the Project Ara's realisation)
Manufacturers should really put their mind into creating phones with the same specs, design and ergonomics in different sizes.

 

[daxdax89]

I like it