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jamezr

macrumors P6
Original poster
Aug 7, 2011
15,831
18,374
US
Haven't heard anything on Project Ara for some time. i though it was dead. But it is till going strong….
Not so sure I want this color but this modular phone looks very interesting.

IMG_9709.jpg


Back in April, Project Ara's Module Developers Kit revealed that the phone's battery will be hot-swappable; in other words, you can replace it without having to switch the phone off. Nifty trick, right? Well, the feature's apparently not limited to the device's battery. Project director Paul Eremenko has recently divulged in a keynote that you'll be able to swap the phone's other modules around, save for the CPU and display, even if you're in the middle of typing out a message or of a phone call. You've got the modified version of Android L that the team developed with non-profit org Linaro to thank for that, as it was the key ingredient Team Ara needed to make most of the phone's components hot-swappable.

Say you're taking pictures of friends when you suddenly remember that you have a module equipped with a better camera -- you can presumably just switch the two right then and there while your friends are in mid-pose. Other than that, Eremenko has also revealed that Google plans to build an online store that sells different types of modules (think Google Play, but for Ara parts), so ready your wallets if customizing phones are your thing.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/30/project-ara-hot-swappable-modules/?ncid=rss_truncated
 

Lloydbm41

Suspended
Oct 17, 2013
4,019
1,456
Central California
Yep, Google continues forward momentum on this project, but people have to remember that this originally began as a 'moonshot' project (as Google call them). I don't know if i would buy one at this point, but I also have to applaud the Google team that started this for thinking outside the box.
 

iionas

macrumors newbie
Jan 11, 2015
8
0
Seems they pushed ahead. That one is the spire 2. They'll be testing it out as a consumer release in Brazil I think, can't remember exact. They promised also the third prototype / release later on this year.

Not a bad idea the whole modular phone, if it operates smooth a lot of people will jump camp I think. Unsure about android thou. Dunno...... Never have been a fan.

Awesome project thou I can truly appreciate the ingenuity here
 

bubulol

macrumors 6502a
Mar 7, 2013
967
273
I dont buy it
Its thick, ugly, poor performances, assembled hardware parts mean no optimizations
I dont see the benefits, its rather a nerd phantasm
 

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,778
10,844
I dont buy it
Its thick, ugly, poor performances, assembled hardware parts mean no optimizations
I dont see the benefits, its rather a nerd phantasm

How do you know that? You think they just going to create a bunch of random pieces without R&D?
 

bubulol

macrumors 6502a
Mar 7, 2013
967
273
man, manufacturers dont only assemble hardware pieces in order to make a product, they also optimize any aspects
Softwares = HTC Sense, Samsung features, Sony Stamina mode, all those features, photos drivers, battery life optimizing etc...
Hardware = thickness and design
They do rely software and hardware
Ara project it sounds like:
''Hey, we give you an hardware puzzle, go assemble it''
 

Switchback666

macrumors 68000
Nov 16, 2012
1,600
67
SXM
Well I don't really see the industry supporting this in the near future, they seem to like how whe just upgrade the whole package every year lol

Cool concept, hopefully I'm alive to see something like this but I don't see myself bothering with it.
 
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