3 ms·

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 de

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
    It would be fairly easy to design an inexpensive removable bumper that wraps around the outside edge of the Ara, holding all the things in, and protecting against damage.
- Retra 12y ago
  It seems like a neat idea, but I would have three big concerns (personally.) 1. If the modules are expensive or not interesting enough, the swappable parts becomes a problem, not a feature. If I just buy the modules I want and never change them, then why do I want interchangeable modules? This means I _have_ to want a phone that does weird things. (And if enough people want weird-thing-having phones, they become standard features, and then swappable modules looks bad again.) 2. I want the simplest phone that does everything I want. Not the most complex phone that does everything everybody else wants. Where does this phone fit? 3. Version issues. If this thing breaks backward compatibility or needs an updated core component, you might be buying a whole new phone anyway. In which case, the gimmick doesn't add value, it adds cost. The phone has to feel like an upgrade, not something that will hold you back because the module vendors can't upgrade at reasonable cost.
  - 01Michael10 12y ago
    I see this more as a customized secondary phone for a particular purpose. My interest in a project Ara phone is if I can buy one configured without baseband (Wi-Fi only) and GPS modules. Using the right apps, one could possibly have a "secure" communication device.
noblethrasher 12y ago
One advantage that hard interconnects have over wireless is that the modules can all share the same battery and recharging episode.

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
  It would be fairly easy to design an inexpensive removable bumper that wraps around the outside edge of the Ara, holding all the things in, and protecting against damage.
Retra 12y ago
It seems like a neat idea, but I would have three big concerns (personally.) 1. If the modules are expensive or not interesting enough, the swappable parts becomes a problem, not a feature. If I just buy the modules I want and never change them, then why do I want interchangeable modules? This means I _have_ to want a phone that does weird things. (And if enough people want weird-thing-having phones, they become standard features, and then swappable modules looks bad again.) 2. I want the simplest phone that does everything I want. Not the most complex phone that does everything everybody else wants. Where does this phone fit? 3. Version issues. If this thing breaks backward compatibility or needs an updated core component, you might be buying a whole new phone anyway. In which case, the gimmick doesn't add value, it adds cost. The phone has to feel like an upgrade, not something that will hold you back because the module vendors can't upgrade at reasonable cost.
- 01Michael10 12y ago
  I see this more as a customized secondary phone for a particular purpose. My interest in a project Ara phone is if I can buy one configured without baseband (Wi-Fi only) and GPS modules. Using the right apps, one could possibly have a "secure" communication device.

noblethrasher 12y ago

One advantage that hard interconnects have over wireless is that the modules can all share the same battery and recharging episode.