Customizing at a whole new level

[pc747]

A few months back a concept came out called Phonebloks, which would allow the user to upgrade parts of the hardware vs replacing the entire phone. So if you buy a phone and the next year model is the same with a new camera, or in the case of the razr and razr maxx a larger battery, you can just purchase the hardware and add it to your additional phones vs buying a new phone. Nice idea but the over all feel was no manufacturer would give up the cash cow they have now where people are having to buy a new phone every year to keep up with the latest and greatest. Well there is a manufacturer willing to do that; Motorola is looking to do that with project Ara. On Motorola's blog they discuss the concept in looking to bring that to life. This could truly be the innovation the smart phone market needs. I will definitely be keeping my eye on this.

The Official Motorola Blog: Goodbye Sticky. Hello Ara.

 

[liftedplane]

yes please, make our smartphones, and HOPEFULLY laptops/tablets more like my PC. I wholly support this idea as long as they don't charge 150+ for a camera upgrade... ya know, be reasonable

 

[TOMMYBOT]

Get it Google!

Sent from my XT1080 using Tapatalk

 

[pc747]

yes please, make our smartphones, and HOPEFULLY laptops/tablets more like my PC. I wholly support this idea as long as they don't charge 150+ for a camera upgrade... ya know, be reasonable

Exactly, don't defeat the purpose. If it is going to cost me 300 bucks to upgrade I might as well sell it on ebay and buy the newest model. From the blog the idea is to make it competitive but it will be more of an open market. So basically you can make a part to specifications that will compete with the market. If this can kick off right man we are talking about an entirely new world. I mean being able to choose my sound system (Bose, Beats, Moster), camera, screen yeah the thought sends my mind into hyper drive because android brought an entirely new world of "out of nowhere" garage developers this could do the same for engineering.

 

[Raverrevolution]

Who are you guys kidding?? There is greed flowing through the industry. Modules will never be cheap. It will most likely cost an arm and leg to upgrade the phone.

Guarantee Verizon will have a problem with it and try to mess it up somehow.

 

[pc747]

Who are you guys kidding?? There is greed flowing through the industry. Modules will never be cheap. It will most likely cost an arm and leg to upgrade the phone.

Guarantee Verizon will have a problem with it and try to mess it up somehow.

Initially maybe but the concept will open an entirely new market. Will the blocks made by name brands like bose or beats me more expensive than one made by Joe blow, yeah but if enough Joes and Toms can offer the quality that is close to the big names they will bring the market cost of bose down or give the consumer a cheaper alternative.

 

[dezymond]

At least a major manufacturer is entertaining the idea. However, I would not be the owner of the first generation, it's going to get expensive and quickly I think. I don't know if it'll last either because that's too many options for the general public. I mean it's a great idea, but unless you work in the tech industry or similar field, you won't hear people talking about changing components on their phone. Some wish they had a better camera or radios, but to "build" a phone from the ground up, that seems like too much for the general consumer.

I could definitely be wrong though. Just from experience, only a small percentage want full customization of their phone.

 

[akhenax]

This is the future.
This will be my next phone.

I remember when I was using my Droid 1 years back, and the Droid 2 came out. I wished I could just swap out the parts I needed for a memory and cpu upgrade. 600 Mhz, 256 MB Ram just didn't do it for me anymore. I hope this idea skyrockets.

 

[johnomaz]

I love idea. As more manufactures get on board with it, it will get cheaper and better. However, I see problems where Moto parts will only work with Moto phones. Samsung parts with Samsung phones. I doubt there will be interchangeability between brands. Shoot, Samsung is looking to requiring OEM accessories. This will be no different.

 

[akhenax]

I love idea. As more manufactures get on board with it, it will get cheaper and better. However, I see problems where Moto parts will only work with Moto phones. Samsung parts with Samsung phones. I doubt there will be interchangeability between brands. Shoot, Samsung is looking to requiring OEM accessories. This will be no different.

I have no problem with this method. I wouldn't want the parts to be interchangeable with various other manufacturers. I want my hardware pieces to work with my previous setup. However, I do see an issue where
1. drivers would need to be updated somehow to work with the new hardware.
2. one must have prerequisite hardware preinstalled to utilize the new module.

 

[Dusty]

This would be awesome! This way carriers could have exclusive components that would delay availability to users on rival carriers. Also carriers could sell phones and replace certain components with their own super special licensed "required" components and charge extra! I can't wait! I can hear it now...

The process is thorough, so please be patient. We must test each component* to ensure that the experience on our network is up to our standards**. As you know, our network is America's Top Quality Network®™, and to keep it that way some components are required to carry our exclusive‡ approval. We'll make it available as soon as we have tested and certified it as a Premium Verizon Grade™ component.

Seriously... Dream on as long as carriers can stick their nose in the process like they already do. Until they're FORCED into being the "big dumb pipes" that they are, this idea is dead and stinkin'.

 

[Briankbl]

Not only is this going to make app development a nightmare, but for everyone who has ever complained about updated firmware taking forever to release from carriers...kiss firmware updates goodbye completely. Whatever firmware version your phone ships with is what it will die with, unless you root your phone or have a nexus device. But even then, the custom mod community would be heavily affected by this, severely harming this open Android ecosystem we all love. I like the concept of this phone design, but the implications may be more harmful than most realize.

Sent from my HTC Droid DNA!

 

[Big Ry]

In addition to all the issues mentioned above, upgrades to the device will require:

a) shipping your device to Moto for install
b) literal plug-and-play components that make it impossible to screw up an upgrade
Or c) sacrificing your warranty to tinker

Either way, I don't see it being economically feasible for most considering the price of subsidized phones.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[liftedplane]

Not only is this going to make app development a nightmare, but for everyone who has ever complained about updated firmware taking forever to release from carriers...kiss firmware updates goodbye completely. Whatever firmware version your phone ships with is what it will die with, unless you root your phone or have a nexus device. But even then, the custom mod community would be heavily affected by this, severely harming this open Android ecosystem we all love. I like the concept of this phone design, but the implications may be more harmful than most realize.

Sent from my HTC Droid DNA!

Because the PC market doesn't have firmware updates right?

I guess I completely forgot how much the PC market lacks open source. My bad

Seriously it would do anything but harm the open ecosystem, it would require a rework of how things work but it is entirely possible for the mobile market to emulate the PC market and offer more options. It just takes one company to start a change like that and hope it catches on.

 

[acousticshade]

Because the PC market doesn't have firmware updates right?

I guess I completely forgot how much the PC market lacks open source. My bad

Seriously it would do anything but harm the open ecosystem, it would require a rework of how things work but it is entirely possible for the mobile market to emulate the PC market and offer more options. It just takes one company to start a change like that and hope it catches on.

Exactly. At the very least, it will allow me to choose how to build my phone every few years. Do I want the 20mp camera or the 13mp one with the smaller f-stop? Do I want 2 battery modules with a combined capacity of 3,500 mah or do I want to swap one out and have 128 mb of storage space or maybe 4 gig of ram? Do I want the 5" screen with 300 or 400 ppi? This takes the moto x to the next level!