

Motorola's Project Ara - beauzero
http://phandroid.com/2013/10/29/motorola-project-ara/

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kyro
This is a wonderful example of why you shouldn't shoot down concepts. When
that designer unveiled his idea for Phonebloks, the majority of the feedback
was criticism about how it wasn't technically feasible, how the designer was
being unrealistic and downright naive for not understanding the mechanics [1].

But that's what concept design is about. You create what you envision to be a
progressive solution, and find ways to make it technologically feasible. You
would think that after all of the stories of Jobs demanding devices be
smaller, sleeker, thinner, more responsive, being told it'd be near impossible
to do, and seeing him actually pull it off, that people would be a bit more
open to new design solutions.

[1]
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6385105](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6385105)

~~~
martythemaniak
The way in which you shoot down something matters greatly.

When I saw phoneblocks, I was instantly reminded of designers who work without
regard for their medium - a great concept with zero thought given on how to
make it a reality, or even awareness of the compromises the medium will
inevitably impose. If you're a front-end developer, at some point you were
probably given an awesome-looking PDF, then expected to make a website/app
that is a 1:1 representation of it. Of course, that never ends up happening
and you have explain why it could never be a reality.

I'm really excited to see where this goes, but whatever it ends up being, I
can guarantee you it won't look much like that phoneblocks video.

~~~
pwhython
> "If you're a front-end developer, at some point you were probably given an
> awesome-looking PDF, then expected to make a website/app that is a 1:1
> representation of it. Of course, that never ends up happening and you have
> explain why it could never be a reality."

I'm going off topic, but as a designer and a front-end developer, I get
frustrated when the developed product isn't a 1:1 representation (when sending
out the work to get coded). The end result should be a pixel perfect match of
the artwork. Nothing is impossible translating an image to a website/app.

~~~
lewispollard
> a designer and a front-end developer

Could that be because you subconsciously make your designs using knowledge of
the technical limitations of the web?

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czr80
Still think this makes no sense at all, though I'm happy to be proved wrong. I
think the endgame for personal devices is making the electronics invisibly
small, which requires more integration, not less.

~~~
criley2
I don't see why I can't have a smartphone as my battery and processor, which
connects wirelessly to any number of gadgets that "appear" individual.

I don't see why my glasses and wrist computing or whatever all need separate
powerful discrete components and radios when they should be parts of a modular
whole.

It'd be great to have a modular smartphone that sat in my pocket automatically
recharging based on movement being converted by my clothing, powering a
glasses or contacts based display with say a wrist band or something that
tracked hand/finger movements in 3d and allowed me to interact with the
'alternate reality' UI I saw through the display.

It doesn't really seem that far away, now.

~~~
czr80
Modular in this sense I can completely see, but this is different from having
them designed to physically interlock.

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Danieru
I am down right impressed. The concept is questionable in current practicality
but I think it matters for something that they are trying. We can all agree a
pc-comptaible like situation would be very cool.

As a matter of good faith I shall withhold my scepticism and wait until they
show concrete details.

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ChikkaChiChi
I can't wait to support hardware that people can change on the fly.

"Tell me in order what modules you have installed" "Take your phone apart and
reseat everything" "Did you try blowing on the connectors" "When it dropped
and split into a dozen pieces did you put them all together correctly"

Sorry, but this will never see the light of day.

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fjcaetano
The main difference I see from Ara to Phonebloks is the "chassi". While
Phonebloks enable different sized components, Ara seems to limit each
component to its own preset size.

I wonder what would happen if you need a bigger "slot" for your block or if
the "slot" is too big.

Anyways, it's dream come true. If actually comes to market, will be utopic.

~~~
special
>I wonder what would happen if you need a bigger "slot" for your block or if
the "slot" is too big.

You swap out your camera for a 5-block expansion hub, attach your camera to
that and enjoy your 4 new slots.

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deelowe
Well, alrighty then... If this becomes a real thing and isn't obsolete 6
months after release, I'll take back all those negative things I said about
phonebloks.

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tehwalrus
I would actually buy this. I'd love to be able to swap components out, upgrade
my camera from vanilla without it costing the earth, give myself two
batteries, upgrade with some more RAM or storage just because...

Maybe it's because I have used an iPhone for years, and I've just been missing
out on Android configurability, but being able to potentially hack together
_new hardware_ that I can just _attach to my phone_... dude... that is
awesome.

EDIT: yes, I read the previous thread about Phonebloks too. I was suitably
deflated by all the "this is unrealistic" comments. I am now re-excited :)

~~~
special
I'm not as interested in upgrades as I am in being able to replace failing
components. It's just silly that a faulty graphics card can cripple a whole
computer currently.

~~~
coob
There is no such thing as a graphics card in a modern mobile device. It's all
on the SoC, hence the name, 'System on a Chip'

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znowi
Wow! This is awesome. Might be a revolution coming. The first thought I had
was - IBM PC. This could be just that for the mobile market.

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Flimm
Motorola's announcement: [http://motorola-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/goodbye-
sticky-h...](http://motorola-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/goodbye-sticky-hello-
ara.html)

HN link:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6634527](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6634527)

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EFruit
I wonder how long until the Ara hardware DRM keys and gamification of Ara
modules begin.

And how long until some virus engages the hardware locks on the modules and
forces you to pay a fine to upgrade your phone ("Vendor" lock in).

Or, on the contrary, when Ara modules start sliding out of their positions,
crashing the phone, corrupting pictures, etc.; causing Motorola (or whoever)
to build in locks.

Or software that doesn't rely on hardware, but refuses to run when you don't
have modules x, y, and z; or refuses to run when you DO have modules a, b, and
c.

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progamler
Motorola's announcement
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6632860](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6632860)

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phreeza
I would like to see us get this kind of compatibility (back) for laptops...
Seems a lot more useful and feasible.

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51Cards
Looking closely at the top photo it looks like they have differently shaped
Exo's as well. One appears to be much wider, where the other is more iPhone 5
shaped.

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dabernathy89
It'd be really neat to able to swap in zoom lenses when you might need them.

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kayoone
i think its awesome, but it only makes androids fragmentation problem worse.

~~~
slantyyz
But if you put those fragments together, you get a phone that looks like a
Mondrian.

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gosukiwi
It should feel like a lego phone, I can already envision myself stepping on a
block.

------
special
It might take a few attempts from a few different companies but this _is_ the
way smartphones are going to go. We've needed modularity in these tiny
computers we carry around for a long time now. The cries of "more battery" for
example are just a symptom of modularity deficiency. I am fully behind this
project.

~~~
rimantas

      > this is the way smartphones are going to go.
    

Sorry but no. I doubt it will ever go further than prototype and wouldn't be
surprised if it never reacher working prototype stage.

    
    
      > The cries of "more battery" for example are just
      > a symptom of modularity deficiency
    

How? Do you think "everything gets its own module" is really more engery
efficient than SoC?

~~~
special

      > Sorry but no. I doubt it will ever go further 
      > than prototype and wouldn't be surprised if it 
      > never reaches working prototype stage.
    

People said Phonebloks would never be more than a weak concept but here we
are.

    
    
      > How?
    

I meant that users complaining about battery life can be a considered a more
general complaint about not being able to upgrade their hardware. If
manufacturers start adding better batteries, users will gripe about another
component. They _could_ keep plugging leaks like that. Or they can introduce
modularity and build a new dam.

