

Project Ara's next prototype will stand equal to a top-tier smartphone - akashtndn
http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/14/project-ara-spiral-3/?ncid=rss_truncated

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devindotcom
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.

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Navarr
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.

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Retra
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.

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01Michael10
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.

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51Cards
Adding this as a separate reply addressing some of the other comments here.

Here is what I see to be the big use case for someone like me. Adapting your
phone on a daily basis. I have days where battery life is everything, so I put
in more battery. Maybe I'm traveling so I swap in the high end camera. Maybe
I'm out hiking and I want the compass or what-ever. Maybe I'm diabetic and I
want a blood meter in my phone if I'm out all day. And I can do all of this
without having multiple devices... just one I adapt to what I'll need that
day. Repairs, etc. are the extra niceties.. but I see adaptability as the main
feature.

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icki
I think the real use case here will be phone repairs:

Camera lens or screen cracked? Just swap in a new one.

Button dead or jammed? Just switch in a new one.

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akashtndn
Apart from the novel idea of being able to customize/personalize your phone,
this has to be the biggest advantage Project Ara will have in the eyes of the
average consumer. But as pointed out in some of the comments, backward
compatibility and cost would be crucial, and hopefully, they won't offset the
advantages.

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ypcx
Can you hot-swap the battery? (e.g. when you have another, perhaps smaller
battery in the phone) Are the component connection points water-resistant?
Irrespective of the contemporary answers to those questions, I believe this
undoubtedly is the future of computing, not just the future of smartphones.

~~~
mmastrac
The endoskeleton contains a tiny power supply that can run the phone in a low-
power, emergency mode long enough for a battery swap.

