Google Is Betting Big On The Modular Smartphone Project Ara | TechTree.com

Google Is Betting Big On The Modular Smartphone Project Ara

Points to a 2015 launch with a $50 Wi-Fi only device.

 

After handing over Motorola over to Lenovo, Google apart from the barrage of Motorola's patents also held back the Project Ara Team. This is because the search giant seems seriously interested in this concept. Google says it is planning to launch it as early as 2015.

For those of you who don’t know Project Ara, it's somewhat similar to Phoneblocks — a concept by Dave Hakkens from the Netherlands. Google in fact has been very keen about the whole idea about modular mobile phones for quite some time. This was evident when Google acquired a couple of patents from Modu known for its 2011's modular phones.

Project Ara was conceptualised by Motorola Mobility and Google took over once they acquired Motorola last October. Since then, they have been focussed on the concept of an open hardware platform for the masses. But, there is still a lot of work to be done before the planned 2015 release. Just recently, Google has set out a date for the very first Project Ara conference on 15th April.

More details of the handset will emerge as we near the conference, but what we know for now is that the device will be priced at $50. It would only come with Wi-Fi, but no cellular connections (strangely). Additional modules would be priced separately and that multiple configurations or kits would be available at launch.

The report from Time also points out that Google will keep the exoskeleton design to be sold only by them, allowing others to tweak around with the rest of the bits.


TAGS: Mobile Phones, Google

 
News Corner
IMP IMP IMP
##