Motorola's mobile division, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Google, has announced plans to create a modular smartphone platform dubbed Ara, which will allow users to build customised handsets tailored to their exact needs.
Based on Dave Hakkens' Phonebloks concept, Project Ara is designed to create an open ecosystem of interchangeable modules which connect to a central 'endoskeleton.' By swapping and changing the modules, users can upgrade or customise their smartphone to meet their individual requirements - without having to settle for whatever a particular phone company has designed.
Potentially, users would buy a central endoskeleton which they would never need to change. Modules containing additional components are then connected. The display, battery, camera, radios, storage, and even the central processor could be swapped at any time. If a user wants a more powerful phone, he or she can simply buy a more powerful processor module; someone who needs a sunlight-readable display can buy an ePaper or other non-reflective screen, or a user who watches lots of films can opt for a Full HD LCD; if you don't take many photos, you can use a smaller and lower-quality camera module and use the room freed up for a larger battery - or vice-versa.
"Our goal is to drive a more thoughtful, expressive, and open relationship between users, developers, and their phones," Motorola's Paul Eremenko said in the announcement. "To give you the power to decide what your phone does, how it looks, where and what it’s made of, how much it costs, and how long you’ll keep it".
Eremenko says that an early alpha version of the Module Developer's Kit, to allow engineers to begin crafting modules for Project Ara endoskeletons, will be released before the end of the year. However, the company is not guessing at retail availability.
Andoid Games
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