Google “Ara Project” – An appointment with the public in 2015
We had already talked about one of the most exciting projects currently in a house Google or ” Ara ” . This smart modular passed under the direct control of the company in Mountain View on the sale to Lenovo and Motorola Mobility, promises to dramatically change the industry with a totally different approach to the components with respect to existing products. The strength is the possibility of replacing them at will, both for technology upgrades for both purely aesthetic changes.
During this week, as already mentioned in the article linked above, you are doing the conference for developers, with new details for the common user.
As reported by The Next Web, everything will start from a base, called Endo. It can then be added to the desired modules, changing the configuration and conformation of the smartphone to suit your needs. Each party will ” fit ” through electromagnetic latches. Detailed rules are provided for On and Off : In the first, the module is connected in a working Endo, exchanging information, in the second. The lock is automatically disengaged for replacement. The everything will be controlled by software, with a special update of Android devices that will support modular.
The modules can be constructed not only by Google, but by any interested developer and sold to the public, both online and in physical stores. The first should still be a preferential way, with a real e-commerce site where anyone can buy Endo together with the components you want. Three modes are provided for testing before buying: it is constituted by a physical store.
The second is purely via the Internet and is based on a simulator. The third, more difficult to realize because it provides for obtaining the estimate of the modules is to test on a device ” Ara ” for friends or relatives in guest mode. There will be both individual components (camera, antenna, screen …) and with multiple features, as required of the developer with the only constraint to respect the design of the device, which makes little curves and bulges.
Touch screen with QWERTY physical keyboard or numeric keypad. Small, medium and large from phablet. Google provides options for all tastes. To date, the main attention is on the medium version, shown during the conference in the form of a prototype still not very advanced. Meanwhile, developers can start designing their modules through the Module Development Kit provided while working for a device on which to try really have to wait until September.
January 2015 will instead be the fateful month for the public debut, with prices starting from $ 50 for Grey Phone, with only a few basic components, to get up to $500 depending on the customizations made. The most interesting aspect for us users will duration: with periodic updates, it is estimated that up to 6 years with the same ” skeleton “.
A new processor or a better camera can be implemented when and how you want, with the added benefit consists in the fact that if you break a module, you do not have to throw the entire phone.
Intriguing? Yes Attractive? On an aesthetic level, at least not for now. But it is to swear that if ” Ara Project ” really catches on, Google will not lose time perfecting the design, giving it a non-modular abreast of competitors. A challenge that will require to maybe even wait for 2016 to understand how it will be accepted. We await with interest the field test at the appropriate time.
