Don't you just hate it when you have to wait for a phone which has your dream specs to be released? And on the other end how totally awesome it is that you can customize you PC to your hearts content. Well Google has come to the rescue for all you geeks out there who just do not want to compromise on even the tiniest upgrade possible.
We have Project Ara. A Motorola initiative to do to hardware what Android has done to Software. I think you know where i am going from here?
On August 11th, 2011 Google purchased Motorola for 12.5 billion dollars and later in 2014 sells it for 2.91 billion dollars for a loss of over 9 billion dollars. But many people do not know that Google actually held on to a majority of Motorola's patents and the team behind Project Ara: an open based modular smartphone.
The goal of Project Ara being let 3rd party developers create modules of the phone which can be chosen by the user. And how awesome would it be if you could just build your smartphone from scratch, just like a PC. Sources says that the device would come with an "Endoskeleton" aka "Endo" that holds all the chosen modules together. The basic Endoskeleton would come with a screen and a Wifi radio. They will be designed to be sold at all major convenience stores. From there users can customize their device as per their requirements. Its more cost effective to swap out a single part and upgrade it than purchasing an entire new device?
What holds these modules together
What will keep these modules from falling apart in your pocket or when you accidentally drop your device. The modules in the front of the Endo use latches where as the ones in the rear use Electropermanent magnets. In both these cases you would use an App (thats right an app) to lock things in place. These devices will also be resistant to water and other environmental threats.
Now for the down side, the modules themselves are about 4mm thick tiles. And inseted into the endoskeleton the phone is about 9.7mm thick in its current prototype which is a tad less than HTC One which comes in at 9.3mm.
Google just does not want to stop at the functionality part of the device, it is also working on its aesthetics. Here is where 3D Systems next gen of 3D printers come in. It would be able to print colour images at 600dpi on these modules which could be made out of multiple types of materials. Now that's what i call customization.
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| Project Ara: A modular based smartphone |
We have Project Ara. A Motorola initiative to do to hardware what Android has done to Software. I think you know where i am going from here?
On August 11th, 2011 Google purchased Motorola for 12.5 billion dollars and later in 2014 sells it for 2.91 billion dollars for a loss of over 9 billion dollars. But many people do not know that Google actually held on to a majority of Motorola's patents and the team behind Project Ara: an open based modular smartphone.
The goal of Project Ara being let 3rd party developers create modules of the phone which can be chosen by the user. And how awesome would it be if you could just build your smartphone from scratch, just like a PC. Sources says that the device would come with an "Endoskeleton" aka "Endo" that holds all the chosen modules together. The basic Endoskeleton would come with a screen and a Wifi radio. They will be designed to be sold at all major convenience stores. From there users can customize their device as per their requirements. Its more cost effective to swap out a single part and upgrade it than purchasing an entire new device?
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| Parts of a functional prototype of a Project Ara phone -- still a work in progress. Including the endoskeleton frame, the screen, electrical components & custom 3D-printed module enclosures. |
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| Ara Knaian, lead mechanical engineer on Project Ara, with the phone in its current functional prototype form. |
What will keep these modules from falling apart in your pocket or when you accidentally drop your device. The modules in the front of the Endo use latches where as the ones in the rear use Electropermanent magnets. In both these cases you would use an App (thats right an app) to lock things in place. These devices will also be resistant to water and other environmental threats.
Now for the down side, the modules themselves are about 4mm thick tiles. And inseted into the endoskeleton the phone is about 9.7mm thick in its current prototype which is a tad less than HTC One which comes in at 9.3mm.
Google just does not want to stop at the functionality part of the device, it is also working on its aesthetics. Here is where 3D Systems next gen of 3D printers come in. It would be able to print colour images at 600dpi on these modules which could be made out of multiple types of materials. Now that's what i call customization.
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