Motorola is at it again.
41 years after introducing the first hand held smartphone that revolutionised the tech industry forever, Motorola is at it again. Motorola is starting production for modular smartphones that have customisable hardware and will drive the future of the smartphones. For those of you who haven’t guessed it already, I am talking about Project Ara.
Wikipedia states project Ara as “Project Ara is the codename for an initiative that aims to develop an open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones. The platform will include a structural frame or endoskeleton that holds smartphone modules of the owner’s choice, such as a display, camera or an extra battery. It would allow users to swap out malfunctioning modules or upgrade individual modules as innovations emerge, providing longer lifetime cycles for the handset, and potentially reducing electronic waste. Project Ara smartphone will begin pilot testing in Puerto Rico later 2015 with a target bill of materials cost of $50 for a basic grey phone.”
Now, This is a very exciting leap which, If successful, Can thrash the tech industry’s biggest leaders which include Apple, HTC and Samsung. A very interesting thing to see would be whether it chooses to stick with android or creates a whole new Operating System.
This is deemed to be the future of smartphones and I can bet that the phones will sell like hot cakes if the project is executed nicely and the design of the phones are not bulky and aesthetically unappealing.
It is very interesting to note that this idea started off as “PhoneBlocks” who’s youtube video went viral as the concept gained popularity and claimed to discover unforeseen technology.
The reason behind the emergence of this concept is basically due to the variations in user’s needs nowadays. Some people want extra battery, Some want better processor and while some others want a high resolution screen. Recently, It has been nearly impossible for mobile manufacturers to cater to ALL the needs of the consumers which is basically impossible to do.
One major thing to note would be that what if the phones come out confusing for many consumers, Not all people want to change their megapixels of camera, battery, screen etc. Many people just want their phone to work fine and are ready to deal with some of the drawbacks that it has.
Will project Ara be left out for the “geeks” or can it capture the mainstream consumer? Comment below and let us know about your views on this highly ambitious project.