Modular Phone - Project Ara

Judgeneo said:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/14/7547529/google-project-ara-prototype-hands-ontf

Still very interseted :)
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You oddly made that link go to the BBC article instead: http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/14/7547529/google-project-ara-prototype-hands-ontf

Another hands on: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/14/google-project-ara-hands-on/

It's already looking much better than the Spiral 1 prototype, the new connectors seems to offer more flexibility for modules.

Hopefully the test run will give the team a good idea on what else Spiral 3 needs, but the planned improvements are already looking pretty good:

Additionally, Eremenko tells us that, right now, you'll need to do that whole battery hot-swapping thing in less than 30 seconds, or else the phone will power down. He hopes to extend that time to one to two minutes by the time the Ara finally ships. Perhaps more worrying is that apparently maintaining the connectivity between modules alone takes up 20 percent of the phone's battery.

Google says it's working to iron those kinks out, and perhaps those worries will be long gone by the time Spiral 3 rolls around. Indeed, Google is already planning on a few improvements, like 4G LTE, high-end camera support and all-day battery life, for the third version of its modular phone. We're still not sure just how long it'll take for Ara to come to market, but it certainly seems like it'll be a while yet. Maybe we should move to Puerto Rico in the meantime.
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I can't imagine this ever being commercially viable. The cost of manufacturing all the individual modules must surely be higher than a traditional phone. I doubt they'd manage to get this slim enough to compare with a similar traditional phone as you need to have a main board and it's casing, all the added connectors and each module has to be encased.
 
Minstadave said:
I can't imagine this ever being commercially viable. The cost of manufacturing all the individual modules must surely be higher than a traditional phone. I doubt they'd manage to get this slim enough to compare with a similar traditional phone as you need to have a main board and it's casing, all the added connectors and each module has to be encased.
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The've already stated that they aren't aiming to be as thin as contemporary smartphones.

As for price - I think you'd be suprised. If you specced all the modules to be the same as a HTC One for example, then yes the cost might be a bit higher. But for example, I don't need or want a camera, GPS, bluetooth or NFC - leaving out those items might make the handset cheaper for me over others available.

And I'd be interested in swapping in a new CPU/GPU core when new ones are developed and leaving the rest of the phone "as is". You could even have a core that's "remote" - i.e. bigger than the slot it plugs into and uses a cable instead.

I'm VERY interested in this project.
 
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I like the look of this too!

Surprised it's still kicking about, mentioned a few years ago and every now and then you hear of it again! This time looks to be quite a big release :)

I like it for the gimmicky/gadgety side of things... also a lot on my phone I don't use, would be interesting to 'build your own'!
 
Doesn't really look like you can actually modify it that much, if you look at what all the modules, you basically have to have one off everything.
However it does mean you don't have to upgrade the whole phone, just replace the module that you want, say camera or CPU.
 
Glaucus said:
Doesn't really look like you can actually modify it that much, if you look at what all the modules, you basically have to have one off everything.
However it does mean you don't have to upgrade the whole phone, just replace the module that you want, say camera or CPU.
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Perhaps you can get 'blank' modules to fill unused gaps :)
 
craig_kennedy83 said:
Perhaps you can get 'blank' modules to fill unused gaps :)
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You won't have any blank modules that's what I mean, putting a basic phone together looks like it will require every slot. So customisation in that regard like doubling battery up, is out the window.

Can't find it know but theres a pic with the modules in saying what they are, you need 3 x small blocks just for antennas. WiFi, voice, 3g
Maybe someone will put them all in one module, but arm, when it's split like that, you aren't going to have any spare spaces.
 
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Glaucus said:
Doesn't really look like you can actually modify it that much, if you look at what all the modules, you basically have to have one off everything.
However it does mean you don't have to upgrade the whole phone, just replace the module that you want, say camera or CPU.
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Some modules will combine functions together so you'll have some free spaces for other modules (eg extra battery, extra memory, etc). And it's still in early stages so even more types of modules will be avaliable later on. There's also different size frames that offers more space:

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Honestly hoping someone will develop this :p: http://www.spawnfirst.com/news/gamepad-concept-googles-project-ara/
 
Glaucus said:
You won't have any blank modules that's what I mean, putting a basic phone together looks like it will require every slot. So customisation in that regard like doubling battery up, is out the window.

Can't find it know but theres a pic with the modules in saying what they are, you need 3 x small blocks just for antennas. WiFi, voice, 3g
Maybe someone will put them all in one module, but arm, when it's split like that, you aren't going to have any spare spaces.
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On the google dev chat (can't find a link to it - I attended live) they mentioned you'll be able to use "empty blanks" to fill unused spaces. Bluetooth and NFC were definitely in a single module as was the camera - so there's two modules straight away you can leave out.
 
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amigafan2003 said:
On the google dev chat (can't find a link to it - I attended live) they mentioned you'll be able to use "empty blanks" to fill unused spaces. Bluetooth and NFC were definitely in a single module as was the camera - so there's two modules straight away you can leave out.
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W would you want blanks? My point has nothing to do with having blanks. It's about customisation.
 
Glaucus said:
W would you want blanks? My point has nothing to do with having blanks. It's about customisation.
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Ok, so instead of a camera I could have another battery. Or instead of bluetooth I could have another sim card slot.

And so on.
 
amigafan2003 said:
Ok, so instead of a camera I could have another battery. Or instead of bluetooth I could have another sim card slot.

And so on.
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Well yes and no.
As I said currently you need 3 x medium size blocks just for antennas. You need a battery, you need a CPU, and the only thing you could actually ditch is the camera, which for most people is essential. And that doesn't even include Bluetooth/NFC etc, that's 3 out of the 4 medium blocks on the medium phone just in antennas. Then the two big blocks are CPU and battery, and you start seeing the issue. Before it comes on sale they need to make combined modules, if the connectors can even handle that, if they can be combined, then you would have thought they already would be.
 
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Glaucus said:
Well yes and no.
As I said currently you need 3 x medium size blocks just for antennas. You need a battery, you need a CPU, and the only thing you could actually ditch is the camera, which for most people is essential. And that doesn't even include Bluetooth/NFC etc. Before it comes on sale they need to make combined modules, if the connectors can even handle that.
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Pretty sure one of their conferences stated there are combined modules. The prototypes don't really show that as they just wanted to prove that you can switch them around while the phone is on.

Couldn't find the original livestream but here's an article of it: http://www.tested.com/tech/smartpho...ins-how-googles-project-ara-smartphone-works/

Modules can have multiple functions

Google showed several prototype modules, including a Wi-Fi unit, biometric sensor (which measured pulse using an IR camera), and a dummy module that does nothing. The dummy module showed that developers will have about 40% of the PCB add their own hardware, with the rest dedicated to Ara-specific chips and tech, such as the magnets and UniPro processing. For larger modules, developers are able and encouraged to maximize their use of space, meaning that modules can have multiple functions. In fact, to build the display module, the Project Ara team used a Samsung screen that didn't take up all of the space available, so they packed in another small battery. Batteries everywhere, please.
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It's up to the manufacturer on what functions these multifunction modules will have, but it should open up some interesting combinations in future.
 
I just wish I could have the M8's body, speakers, etc. and just swap out the camera module.

I know it's a proof-of-concept but they need to produce a modular smartphone that is as good as the ones already available on the market. This does not look like that.
 
It never occurred to me that other manufacturers might get into this. I was thinking "official" and a smattering of small-time startups, not everyday names (not that that means much when Toshiba are involved).

The problem I still have is that it just won't be customisable enough. There'll be the usual budget/premium options for this and that, but you're not going to be able to customise to any great length. The screen size will be restricted, the battery is never going to be the optimal size. It's going to a compromise of most things with little chance of making your own flagship-challenger.
 
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Never say never but I don't think this would be for me

I kind of like the substantial upgrade cycle
Getting a whole new phone every 1 to 2 years

I don't need to upgrade at all I find now.
I don't want
-more ram (did at 1gb stage)
-more cpu
-never needed more gpu grunt
-a better camera don't use it for anything else than utility
- a bigger screen!
- more ppi

Only real thing is better battery - always
Ever improved software - always

And besides only see this as useful if you want a long term chassis or cutting edge hardware.. Small market
And my phone would probably look knackered if I kept chassis for 5 years!

Next big innovation probably will be a chassis difference of some kind.

Sum up.. I am finding it harder year on year to find any reason to upgrade
I rarely even install updates now and no longer root.
 
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