4 ms·

Project Ara's next prototype will stand equal to a top-tier smartphone

30 points by akashtndn 12y ago

ypcx 12y ago
Can you hot-swap the battery? (e.g. when you have another, perhaps smaller battery in the phone) Are the component connection points water-resistant? Irrespective of the contemporary answers to those questions, I believe this undoubtedly is the future of computing, not just the future of smartphones.
- mmastrac 12y ago
  The endoskeleton contains a tiny power supply that can run the phone in a low-power, emergency mode long enough for a battery swap.
51Cards 12y ago
Adding this as a separate reply addressing some of the other comments here. Here is what I see to be the big use case for someone like me. Adapting your phone on a daily basis. I have days where battery life is everything, so I put in more battery. Maybe I'm traveling so I swap in the high end camera. Maybe I'm out hiking and I want the compass or what-ever. Maybe I'm diabetic and I want a blood meter in my phone if I'm out all day. And I can do all of this without having multiple devices... just one I adapt to what I'll need that day. Repairs, etc. are the extra niceties.. but I see adaptability as the main feature.
devindotcom 12y ago
Project Ara is a very interesting project and I know they have a lot of very smart people working on it, but I can't help but think that it's an evolutionary dead end. To my eye, the future isn't modules integrated with the phone itself, but modules out there, self-contained and communicating wirelessly. Who's going to put a fitness tracker module in their phone instead of having one built into their shoe or watch? Who's going to put an environmental sensor there, where it'll track their pocket humidity? Customizing is good, and people should be able to, say, upgrade the camera for an extra $30 or what have you — that's limited by manufacturing processes, alas. I just feel Ara is going to end up in the "curiosities" pile of tech history, having looked years into the wrong future.
- ewzimm 12y ago
  A big use case is people who want privacy. Modern phones have back doors that can be activated remotely by the manufacturer. Don't want to be tracked for a while? Disconnect the baseband. Don't want to be watched? Disconnect the camera. I can see a lot of people wanting a phone that's under their control.
  - mongrol 12y ago
    That phone will never exist.
    - robin_reala 12y ago
      That phone exists already if you’re willing to compromise on looks and weight: http://www.raspberrypi.org/piphone-home-made-raspberry-pi-smartphone/ http://www.raspberrypi.org/piphone-home-made-raspberry-pi-sm...
- Navarr 12y ago
  It's possible - but you can't get anywhere without taking risks, right? I think the really exciting part about this will be the ability to upgrade components of your phone quicker. Or put in components you care about (or don't care about). Don't want a camera in your phone? you don't have to have one! Fill that up with battery instead. For the first time ever you'll actually be able to tailor your mobile to your needs - and then when they change you shell out just a fraction of the cost of a new phone in order to swap out modules.
  - tomswartz07 12y ago
    That's very cool. I'm very excited about the possiblity of custom-making a phone with just the items and features I want. I'm not looking forward to dropping my phone and having to pick up and re-insert 10 parts instead of just the device and battery like now.`
    - troymc 12y ago
icki 12y ago
I think the real use case here will be phone repairs: Camera lens or screen cracked? Just swap in a new one. Button dead or jammed? Just switch in a new one.
- akashtndn 12y ago
  Apart from the novel idea of being able to customize/personalize your phone, this has to be the biggest advantage Project Ara will have in the eyes of the average consumer. But as pointed out in some of the comments, backward compatibility and cost would be crucial, and hopefully, they won't offset the advantages.

30 points by akashtndn 12y ago

ypcx 12y ago

Can you hot-swap the battery? (e.g. when you have another, perhaps smaller battery in the phone) Are the component connection points water-resistant? Irrespective of the contemporary answers to those questions, I believe this undoubtedly is the future of computing, not just the future of smartphones.

mmastrac 12y ago
The endoskeleton contains a tiny power supply that can run the phone in a low-power, emergency mode long enough for a battery swap.

51Cards 12y ago

Adding this as a separate reply addressing some of the other comments here. Here is what I see to be the big use case for someone like me. Adapting your phone on a daily basis. I have days where battery life is everything, so I put in more battery. Maybe I'm traveling so I swap in the high end camera. Maybe I'm out hiking and I want the compass or what-ever. Maybe I'm diabetic and I want a blood meter in my phone if I'm out all day. And I can do all of this without having multiple devices... just one I adapt to what I'll need that day. Repairs, etc. are the extra niceties.. but I see adaptability as the main feature.

devindotcom 12y ago

Project Ara is a very interesting project and I know they have a lot of very smart people working on it, but I can't help but think that it's an evolutionary dead end. To my eye, the future isn't modules integrated with the phone itself, but modules out there, self-contained and communicating wirelessly. Who's going to put a fitness tracker module in their phone instead of having one built into their shoe or watch? Who's going to put an environmental sensor there, where it'll track their pocket humidity? Customizing is good, and people should be able to, say, upgrade the camera for an extra $30 or what have you — that's limited by manufacturing processes, alas. I just feel Ara is going to end up in the "curiosities" pile of tech history, having looked years into the wrong future.

ewzimm 12y ago
A big use case is people who want privacy. Modern phones have back doors that can be activated remotely by the manufacturer. Don't want to be tracked for a while? Disconnect the baseband. Don't want to be watched? Disconnect the camera. I can see a lot of people wanting a phone that's under their control.
- mongrol 12y ago
  That phone will never exist.
  - robin_reala 12y ago
    That phone exists already if you’re willing to compromise on looks and weight: http://www.raspberrypi.org/piphone-home-made-raspberry-pi-smartphone/ http://www.raspberrypi.org/piphone-home-made-raspberry-pi-sm...
Navarr 12y ago
It's possible - but you can't get anywhere without taking risks, right? I think the really exciting part about this will be the ability to upgrade components of your phone quicker. Or put in components you care about (or don't care about). Don't want a camera in your phone? you don't have to have one! Fill that up with battery instead. For the first time ever you'll actually be able to tailor your mobile to your needs - and then when they change you shell out just a fraction of the cost of a new phone in order to swap out modules.
- tomswartz07 12y ago
  That's very cool. I'm very excited about the possiblity of custom-making a phone with just the items and features I want. I'm not looking forward to dropping my phone and having to pick up and re-insert 10 parts instead of just the device and battery like now.`
  - troymc 12y ago

icki 12y ago

I think the real use case here will be phone repairs: Camera lens or screen cracked? Just swap in a new one. Button dead or jammed? Just switch in a new one.

akashtndn 12y ago
Apart from the novel idea of being able to customize/personalize your phone, this has to be the biggest advantage Project Ara will have in the eyes of the average consumer. But as pointed out in some of the comments, backward compatibility and cost would be crucial, and hopefully, they won't offset the advantages.