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Whenever I saw articles about this my first thought was always that it didn't make any sense. 1. Why do consumers need to decide what goes in their phone.

Whenever I saw articles about this my first thought was always that it didn't make any sense. 1. Why do consumers need to decide what goes in their phone. Are my needs really different that someone else's? 2. Building hardware is hard. Building consumer hardware is really harder. Making it modular is just batshit crazy. I never once thought this would see the light of day.

um_ya 10y ago
The difference is that software has practically no licensing or patent issues, while hardware is a minefield of costs.
cm2187 10y ago
I guess it could be useful to have something modular for more professional usage. Like adding a fast barcode reader, a chip & pin reader, or a thermal camera, or something to remote control a device. As a mainstream device for my mom, yes I agree.
dingaling 10y ago
> Are my needs really different that someone else's? Absolutely. I'm looking for an IP68-certified phone with a 3" 400 PPI polycarbonate screen and without a camera. Such a thing doesn't exist, but Ara gave me a vague hope that one day I might be able to obtain a phone that fits my needs instead of those of a manufacturer.
- source99 10y ago
  Again, volumes won't ever be high enough to make this happen.
- shimon_e 10y ago
  If there isn't enough volume for whatever component you are looking for get ready to pay an arm and leg.
hirsin 10y ago
This should have been an enterprise play. Delta needs 5,000 devices with a built in credit card reader. Macy's needs 25,000 devices with a built in barcode scanner. Delta doesn't need a massive battery life, Kohls needs minimum 8 hours. GM needs 175,000 phones with the barcode reader, a camera, and a rubberized body for their production lines. The phones don't have to be modular to the consumer - Google just needs to be able to snap a couple thousand together before shipment. Buy your devices at the same place you buy your software support. It's now just one contract, and the connection between the software and hardware means you have a single point of failure (if the phone borks, call Google) instead of 2. That it didn't happen could point to Google's enterprise game not being strong enough or the hardware not working out. Or maybe enterprise doesn't net them enough money compared to focusing on consumers.
- source99 10y ago
  Volume isn't high enough to get reasonable costs.
flukus 10y ago
> Are my needs really different that someone else's? Yes. The trend towards huge phones doesn't work for me, I need (and want) to be able to operate them one handed. I don't care what camera it comes with, they got good enough for me 5+ years ago, but someone that takes a lot more pictures would disagree.
taneq 10y ago
Exactly. A mix-n-match smartphone was always a terrible, unworkable idea, as is pointed out in so many good comments here. The most amazing aspect of the whole show was that it was ever considered seriously for a moment.

um_ya 10y ago

The difference is that software has practically no licensing or patent issues, while hardware is a minefield of costs.

cm2187 10y ago

I guess it could be useful to have something modular for more professional usage. Like adding a fast barcode reader, a chip & pin reader, or a thermal camera, or something to remote control a device. As a mainstream device for my mom, yes I agree.

dingaling 10y ago

> Are my needs really different that someone else's? Absolutely. I'm looking for an IP68-certified phone with a 3" 400 PPI polycarbonate screen and without a camera. Such a thing doesn't exist, but Ara gave me a vague hope that one day I might be able to obtain a phone that fits my needs instead of those of a manufacturer.

source99 10y ago
Again, volumes won't ever be high enough to make this happen.
shimon_e 10y ago
If there isn't enough volume for whatever component you are looking for get ready to pay an arm and leg.

hirsin 10y ago

This should have been an enterprise play. Delta needs 5,000 devices with a built in credit card reader. Macy's needs 25,000 devices with a built in barcode scanner. Delta doesn't need a massive battery life, Kohls needs minimum 8 hours. GM needs 175,000 phones with the barcode reader, a camera, and a rubberized body for their production lines. The phones don't have to be modular to the consumer - Google just needs to be able to snap a couple thousand together before shipment. Buy your devices at the same place you buy your software support. It's now just one contract, and the connection between the software and hardware means you have a single point of failure (if the phone borks, call Google) instead of 2. That it didn't happen could point to Google's enterprise game not being strong enough or the hardware not working out. Or maybe enterprise doesn't net them enough money compared to focusing on consumers.

source99 10y ago
Volume isn't high enough to get reasonable costs.

flukus 10y ago

> Are my needs really different that someone else's? Yes. The trend towards huge phones doesn't work for me, I need (and want) to be able to operate them one handed. I don't care what camera it comes with, they got good enough for me 5+ years ago, but someone that takes a lot more pictures would disagree.

taneq 10y ago

Exactly. A mix-n-match smartphone was always a terrible, unworkable idea, as is pointed out in so many good comments here. The most amazing aspect of the whole show was that it was ever considered seriously for a moment.