When I first saw the Phonebloks concept video, I was intrigued by the simplicity of the proposal: cellphone longevity, modularity, and customization. However, I was skeptical. It was a well presented idea through social media by a team of designers, not engineers or businessmen. The concept had no technological backing, no prototype, and no business plan. The concept simply became viral because of its aesthetically appealing and accessible video, which presented a problem — electronic waste — and a very, very optimistic solution.

Here is the original Phonebloks video for those interested:

When Motorola acquired the project, dubbed Project Ara, I was surprised that the concept was viable. And when Motorola was sold to Lenovo by Google, Google held on to a couple fragments of Motorola: the patents, and notably, Project Ara.

With Google heading Project Ara, the possibility of a modular cellphone is becoming a reality. Under Google’s direction, a prototype has been demoed, and a business plan has been released. The project’s motto: “Designed exclusively for 6 billion people,” shows the team’s goal with the project, to provide a fully customizable phone, and to make smartphones accessible to new markets, ensuring that untapped mass markets use Google services. Google plans to sell working starter kits that include a frame, a screen, a battery, a low end CPU and WiFi for $50 USD. Ara will no doubt saturate the low-end phone market. Modules will be sold on a store similar to the Google Play store. There is no license or fee for producers to develop a module, which lowers the barrier to entry for cellphone hardware producers.

Here are some images by Engadget of an Ara prototype at Expand NY 2014:

Commercial release is planned for 2015 Q1.

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/07/google-modular-smartphone-project-ara/

http://www.projectara.com/