Tag Archives: Project Ara

Xiaomi tries building what Google and Motorola couldn’t – the modular smartphone

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The modular smartphone still remains an elusive pipe dream, nearly a decade after the Phonebloks surfaced on the internet. Google tried it, Motorola managed to execute a strange version of it with the Moto Mods, and every company that considered it eventually abandoned it because it was a logistical nightmare with very little net positive benefit. It’s safe to say Xiaomi isn’t ‘every company’. The Chinese giant’s company’s name loosely translates to ‘little grain’, and it talks about a philosophy of building a lot from a little. This means they’re not averse to taking risks, and they’ve definitely surprised before, with their phones like the Mi MIX 2 that was designed by Philippe Starck, the Mi TV LUX, a transparent television, and even their latest bit of innovation in the Mi MIX Fold, with its liquid camera lens. According to LetsGoDigital, it seems like the company is also trying its hand out at designing the modular smartphone by splitting the device into four distinct parts – the screen, the camera, the battery+pcb, and the speakers.

LetsGoDigital uncovered the patent on the 26th of April, and partnered with Jermaine Smit (aka Concept Creator) to bring the patent drawings to life. The phone’s components attach to one another using sliding dovetail joinery, with contact points that allow for communication between modules. Finally, a primary screen snaps on the front, hiding the crease-lines and providing a large, bezel-less display. The three modules play a rather interesting role when combined together. The upper module houses the camera, but also contains the phone’s motherboard. The central module houses the battery, while the third contains the speaker along with the phone’s charging port. Conceptually, the modules would be interchangeable, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you had to switch the phone off prior to swapping parts.

Jermaine Smit’s camera modules give this conceptual Xiaomi smartphone a variety of features, including camera modules with different capabilities. The different modules have anywhere from a 3-4 lens setup, with one of the higher-end ones even coming with its own backward-facing display that’s emblematic of the Mi 11 Ultra that released earlier this year. Unlike the Ultra, which had a tiny display, this concept’s display is a respectable 2-inches diagonally. I’d assume it would be big enough to use as a viewfinder for selfies (given that the phone doesn’t have a front-facing camera) and even for notifications.

Although this concept, and Xiaomi’s patent, unlocks some pretty interesting possibilities, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Not many of these patents really make it to a public reveal or to a retail outlet, but instead, aim at protecting a company’s intellectual property and research. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if Xiaomi just announced it as a one-off concept to show that their tech isn’t just a dream, it works in reality too. Until then, all we have are these (pretty intriguing) renders!

Designer: Jermaine Smit for LetsGoDigital

Image Credits: LetsGoDigital

Remember Phonebloks? This company is trying to bring the same modularity to laptops

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There’s no such thing as a perfect laptop. As someone who’s gone through three of them (and is looking to now buy his fourth laptop), there’s always a trade-off somewhere. Either the keyboard’s pathetic, or there aren’t enough ports (or even the right ports), or you aren’t happy with the screen. Up until now, there have been only two solutions – either accept the problem and live with it, or buy a new laptop to find that it has some other problem. Laptops, just like phones, have become devices that are difficult to upgrade, modify, or repair… and Framework is changing that.

The way the Framework laptop is built reminds me of Phonebloks – a video that went viral in 2013, outlining a modular phone with swappable components. Phonebloks would present the holy grail of consumer electronics by putting the power right in the hands of the consumer. The block-based smartphone would allow you to change batteries, upgrade storage, or replace an old camera or broken screen by simply sliding the old part out and putting the new one in. The idea seemed simple, and Google even tried their hand at building it, but complications arose midway (I suspect it also had something to do with the marketing team saying it was bad for business)… however, Framework is bringing that idea to laptops, which could really use modularity given how expensive laptops can be, and how people tend to hold onto one laptop for at least 3-5 years, if not longer.

The idea, just like with Phonebloks, is simple. Framework just announced a 13.5-inch notebook with a number of modular parts that are easy to repair and replace… even for novices. The screen sits on a magnetic bezel, allowing you to easily snap it off if you ever want to upgrade your display (or replace a broken one). Underneath it is a keyboard with 1.5mm of travel, also replaceable, along with the battery, RAM, SSD, and even the WiFi module, all fitted using industry-standard sockets. On the top, right above the display, lie the webcam and microphone modules, that come equipped with hardware switches that let you disconnect them for privacy reasons… and if you’re looking for a laptop with ports, look no further. The Framework laptop’s infinitely swappable port modules mean you can choose ports you NEED, rather than settle for ports the manufacturer selected for you.

While the idea of Framework’s laptop is about empowering users to rebuild/fix/upgrade their laptops, there’s a case to be made about how the laptop is good for the environment too. It drastically cuts down on e-waste generated, while also meaning less laptops need to be manufactured/sold in the long run. In fact, founder of Framework Nirav Patel (an ex-Oculus engineer) even addresses the fact that the laptops are made from up to 50% post-consumer recycled aluminum and up to 30% post-consumer recycled plastic. The packaging’s designed to be recyclable too, with no single-use plastic pieces, and carbon emitted during shipping will eventually be offset too, making the Framework a laptop that isn’t just great for consumers, but is also great for the planet! The Framework laptop’s due to ship this summer with a variety of configurations to choose from, and if you’re interested, you can just head down to their website and hit the Notify Me button to sign up for updates.

Designer: Framework

What if the iPhone’s camera module was a detachable, GoPro-style fully functional device?

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I’m fully aware that when I’m paying over $1000 for an iPhone, a healthy amount of that is going towards the camera hardware, which everyone will agree is Apple’s crown jewel… so why not just be able to buy that camera module? Louis Berger envisions a Google Project Ara-esque setup where the smartphone’s camera is a detachable module that you can either attach to a larger screen and use as a phone, or pop it out and use it as a standalone shooting device or an action cam.

Called the Mosaic, Berger’s concept is sort of a part-logical-part-sarcastic way of pointing out that camera bumps on phones are so big they might as well be an independent device! The Mosaic isn’t really intended at being an Apple concept, but the camera bump and CMF options seem pretty indicative. Pop it into its smartphone dock and you’ve got a phone with a maxed out camera, take it out and the Mosaic module is just as functional, with a screen on the other side big enough to read and even type out messages. On the lens-side, you’ve got three camera lenses, a ToF sensor, a microphone, and another tiny screen that’s great for basic notifications, or a nice preview window or countdown timer for your camera! The camera module can be even used as a neck-worn or wrist-strapped device, like an activity tracker or smartwatch, and a clip-on accessory lets you mount it on yourself, like a bodycam. It even has its own volume buttons, although the evident lack of real estate on a device so compact means there aren’t any ports on it. How would you charge it then? Well, via the smartphone, apparently.

Berger’s conceptual device addresses a lot of pain-points in consumer tech. Smartphones are expensive, smartwatches don’t have cameras, and the lack of modularity on devices means you need to throw an entire phone or watch away if a part breaks. The Mosaic, with its pretty fun, innovative, and useful design, changes all that. Besides, I’d totally spend north of $1K on a smartphone if I knew I was getting an action camera free with it!

Designer: Louis Berger

Indiegogo Pulls the Plug on Scammy Modular Phone Campaign

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Fonkraft

A couple of days ago, many tech sites were pointing and laughing at Google’s Project Ara, saying that Fonkraft, a Viennese startup, had beat it to the punch.

The flex-fund Indiegogo campaign would’ve been a success for the two Austrians behind Fonkraft, even if the $50,000 funding goal wasn’t met. There are so many problems here, that it’s difficult for me to choose one to start with. Remember when Canonical (the makers of Ubuntu) looked to raise $32m on Indiegogo for what would have been Ubuntu Edge, the first smarthone to run their flavor of Linux? Had that been a flex-fund campaign, Canonical would have obtained the $12m the backers pledged by the campaign’s end, and would’ve started working on their product. Believing that a Project Ara-killer could’ve been done with $50K is a sign of unimaginable naivety.

Secondly, the two guys representing “Fonkfraft Technologies” (it does sound fancy and credible, doesn’t it?) seem to be some ghosts. They have no social media profiles, no LinkedIn pages, and basically nothing to suggest that they have any experience in the phone industry. I can’t help but wonder how two guys would’ve manufactured four different models of modular phones with $50K.

As seen in the following video, the prototype is represented by two pieces of plastic. Knowing this, learning that backers had pledged more than $20,000 before Indiegogo decided to suspend the campaign is simply unbelievable.

This is not the first time things go awry in crowdfunding. In October 2014, Kickstarter decided to shut down the campaign for Anonabox, a “privacy router,” that was supposed to make use of some custom hardware to achieve the promised results, until it didn’t. This time, it’s Indiegogo’s turn to prove that it has no standards when it comes to accepting projects for crowdfunding. Fortunately, the crowdfunding platform has realized early that the Fonkraft campaign is a scam, and pulled the plug on it before backers lost their money.

I just wish people weren’t so ignorant when it came to investing their money in something that was never seen before. After all, if a modular phone, along with a bunch of modules, were so cheap to make, chances are we would have already had such a product, by now. Unfortunately, some still have to learn that not everything that flies was born with wings.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the Kickstarter campaign for Anonabox, the privacy router, or the RoboCop statue that made the jump from Kickstarter to Detroit.

Project Ara is getting shown at the Mobile World Congress

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Project Ara MWC 2

Google is getting serious about their modular phones project, titled Project Ara, and something big is coming to the next Mobile World Congress.

A number of companies including Toshiba seem to be already developing compatible modules for Google’s Project Ara, a smartphone that will be able to be upgraded like a regular desktop PC. The next MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona will be host to several new modules, and we can already report Toshiba will be providing some photography related ones. Other brands also on board include DDM Brands with Yezz.

Toshiba’s modules will be a front 2 megapixel camera, and 2 back cameras of 5 and 13 megapixels respectively. Note, these are being developed as of now, so they might end up changing before the event.

Project Ara will be tested first in Puerto Rico, and if the concept proves to be successful there will eventually expand to other markets including the continental USA.

There are over 50 modules reported for Project Ara at WMC, which will take place in early March, and while we don’t know yet what these are or whether they will be demos or the actual project, all the pieces (literally) seem to be slowly falling into place for Google.

Toshiba are already showing some stuff off on a website meant to help developers understand these modules, some of which include camera, screen, or Wi-Fi amongst others.

Via Phone Arena

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Google’s Project Ara to Have Its Own Component Store and Project Ara Aims to Create Entirely New Mobile Industry.

Google’s Project Ara to Have Its Own Component Store

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Google Project Ara Component Store

Much like the Google Play Store, which also sells Android devices besides millions of apps, the Project Ara component store will offer people plenty of options when building a modular smartphone.

Since Google did not launch separate websites for its Android devices, you might wonder what could determine the company to create a dedicated component store for Project Ara. The Play Store already offers a great experience when it comes to buying Nexus smartphones and tablets, but it doesn’t include a review system. On top of that, the Project Ara component store will feature recommendations on how to mix and match various smartphone modules in order to get the best performance for specific tasks.

Team leader Paul Eremenko explained in an interview at a Purdue University event that the Project Ara component store will resemble the Google Play Store, not just in the design, but also in the overall shopping experience.”By following the Android model, we are creating a free and open platform… The Ara MDK (Module Developers Kit) is free and open and available to everybody, so everybody could create a module per the specifications of the developer’s kit and put it in the Ara module marketplace, which is analogous to the Google Play store, and sell directly to consumers.”

The idea of basing the component store on an already successful recipe is not bad at all. If it’s not broken, why not use it again? There are still a few questions to be answered by Google, such as the approximate number of modules will be available in the component store at the time of the launch. Also, the world has yet to find out who Google’s partners are in terms of smartphone module manufacturing. Is it the usual suspects all over again? Surely Samsung, LG, Motorola, Asus and HTC have plenty of experience in making Nexus devices, but I wouldn’t mind seeing some new players besides them.

In the interview, which is available above in its entirety, Eremenko didn’t say anything about the current status of Project Ara, so we don’t know when the modular smartphone will become a reality. Considering that Google has only organized one of the three Ara Developers’ Conferences announced for this year, we might be in for a surprise this holiday season.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Google’s lesson in modular smartphones, and Project Ara as the kickstarter of an entirely new mobile industry.

Google Will Give Developers a Lesson in Modular Smartphones in April

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Google Modular Smartphone, Project Ara

The alpha version of the Project Ara MDK (module developers’ kit) will be unveiled by Google on April 15-16, at the first Ara Developers’ Conference.

Motorola ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects), the home of Projects Ara and Tango, is one of the things Google kept after selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo, the others being about 17,000 patents. The concept behind Ara was first presented by Motorola last year in October, and the project is said to also be based on several patents that Google bought from Modu prior to acquiring Motorola Mobility.

What seems to be the ultimate modular smartphone could turn into a nightmare for other smartphone manufacturers. Google wants to enable people to change the underperforming modules when new ones hit the market, rather than changing the entire smartphone, something that doesn’t seem to bother iPhone users, despite the exorbitant prices practiced by Apple.

Google plans to organize a series of three Ara Developers’ Conferences this year, the first one being scheduled for April 15-16. This is a sign that the search giant might not launch the modular smartphone before 2015, but even if it is so, the wait will be worth it. Let’s face it, Motorola under Google ownership did not really launch anything otherworldly, but Ara has great chances of being something revolutionary. It might be for the best that Google wants to launch smartphones under its own name, considering the weight of this brand.

One other thing that will set Ara apart from all the other smartphones, be them modular or not, is the price. According to the latest reports, the barebone smartphone will cost $50, while the price of the modules will depend on the capabilities of each one of them. Do you want a great camera, but don’t care that much about gaming and the smartphone’s GPU? Do you need a lot of RAM because you run a lot of apps at the same time? There are plenty of other scenarios in which Project Ara looks like the perfect solution.

Rest assured, Google’s Project Ara is not the only modular smartphone out there. Competition includes Boeing Black, Phonebloks and ZTE Eco-Mobius. I’m glad that this is becoming a trend, as it’s much better to replace a single module than the entire smartphone when new features appear.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Google’s Project Tango, a 3D mapping smartphone, and Boeing Black, another modular smartphone.

Google Announces Developer Conference on Modular Phones

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Project Ara Modular Phones Google announced on Wednesday that it will host a series of three developer conferences, focusing on the alpha release of the Project Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK). Project Ara is an initiative to move the idea of modular smartphones into a reality.

Instead of purchasing a whole, new pre-configured smartphone every time your device (or part of your device) is outdated you would have the option of purchasing just a single component of the device, and mix and matching it as you would like.

The first of the series of conferences will be based on a slower prototype implementation of the Ara on-device network, and will be held on April 15-16 in Mountain View, CA. There is a $100 ($25 for students) attendance fee with developers having a priority at the show, or you can watch a live stream of the conference for free.

Project Ara

Google Buys Nest, The $3 Billion Distraction

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One of the most surprising things about Google and its purchase of Nest is the price. Over $3 billion! That’s what you’d pay for a fast growing social network. But seriously, Nest hardly has the...
    






Daily Roundup: PlayStation 4 and Xbox One comparison, unlocked iPhone 5s from Apple, Yoga Tablet review and more!

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DNP The Daily RoundUp

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

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