Google's Modular Cellphone

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in mobile on (#3F1)
Google's Advanced Technology and Projects group has announced a series of three developer events for Project Ara, which hopes to create a modular smartphone. Google hopes to have a working prototype ready within weeks, with a commercial release in the first quarter of 2015.
Motorola first unveiled the Project Ara initiative in October 2013 and Google is keen to push ahead with the project, despite selling off Motorola to Lenovo last month.
This is possible because Google decided to keep the ATAP group under its Android umbrella when it sold Motorola.
The design for Project Ara is based on the concept of Phonebloks, created by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens. It consists of a structural frame called an "endoskeleton" that holds various modules in place. The modules can be anything ranging from a new display, keyboard, an extra battery or something not yet thought of.
Endoskeletons will come in three sizes and cost approximately $50.

PhoneBloks are impractical rubbish (Score: 2, Informative)

by fatphil@pipedot.org on 2014-03-04 17:45 (#9D)

All the different devices that might be embedded in the various components will have different buses, frequencies, voltage requirements, current-draw, etc. You can't even force compatbility as there's no freaking way you'd want to add an expensive bridge to a 1c ambient light sensor, for example.

However, if you want pluggable-to-a-limited-extent hardware, there's already Jolla.
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