from the part-ing-is-such-sweet-sorrow dept.
The dream of upgrading the CPU/RAM/sensors in your smartphone using Lego-like components is dead:
It sounds like Project Ara, the ambitious modular smartphone concept birthed in Google's ATAP division, is finally dead. A report from Reuters says that Google has "suspended" Project Ara in an effort to "streamline the company's hardware efforts."
Project Ara never seemed like a particularly viable product, and after the announcement in 2013, progress came slowly. The device was delayed past its 2015 commercialization deadline when plans for a Puerto Rican "food truck" pilot launch fell through. Earlier this year, the device was delayed again to 2017, and the Ara team announced that Ara would pivot from fully modular to having a fixed CPU, GPU, antennas, sensors, battery, and display. After that announcement, Ara was watered down so much it barely had a reason to exist.
(Score: 5, Funny) by tonyPick on Saturday September 03 2016, @10:30AM
So, looking at the "related links" sidebar I saw:
And instantly started wishing you'd got a link to "Netcraft Confirms" in there as well.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @03:45PM
If you keep reading you'll see the explanation:
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday September 04 2016, @07:27AM
ISIS offered me tacos.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday September 03 2016, @05:31PM
ISIS was just too attractive.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 5, Funny) by Bot on Saturday September 03 2016, @12:03PM
If Google wanted it, Google would have had it.
Modular concept are nothing more than "how we made stuff back in the 70s".
Now, a reconstruction of what likely went on:
Google> good news everyone
averageGuy> here we go again!
Google> we are developing an open, modular, repairable phone.
Samsung> WHAT?
TheChineseManufacturers> O LLY? [translated: O RLY?]
averageGuy> hey i'd actually pay for it, in fact I am still waiting for the nokia N900 successor.
NSA (privmsg)> Google, how are you going to implement our backdoors if the design is modular and user can, like, disable the modem?
Samsung (privmsg)> Google, I already told you, another screw up and we fork android, you know that we can make it a pretty decent OS. DO NOT INTERFERE WITH OUR PRODUCT OBSOLESCENCE PLANS.
TheChineseManufacturers (privmsg)>Google, what samsung just said
Google (privmsg)> TheChineseManufacturers, hey how do you know what samsung just said?
TheChineseManufacturers quit (heee heee heee)
Google> oh ok, it looks a bit difficult, maybe later
averageGuy> I FUCKING KNEW IT, Google cannot design electronics the same way everything was designed prior the 80s. This fucking sounds the same as diaspora
diaspora> ZZZZZZZZ.... hey, wat?
facebook> go back to sleep
Account abandoned.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @12:32PM
Not just stuff, people too, back when we had a concept called learning. Know how to code but no experience in the language of the month? You're fired!! Now we pick up some brownskins from the github to do the shitwork.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @12:29PM
Seemed nice in theory, but impractical in ... practice.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @12:45PM
Yeah I have a modular type phone thing. It's called carrying a hotspot and a tablet and a battery and tethering them together.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by stormwyrm on Saturday September 03 2016, @02:57PM
Numquam ponenda est pluralitas sine necessitate.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @03:43PM
if the plugable modules would have birthed a industry standard and if the modules would have been
maybe two sizes, like the size of a micro SD for one type of module and double micro SD in area and "fatness" for the second type,
it might have worked.
tho i doubt it's possible to have a (one type of) connector that can accept a replaceable CPU -or- a camera.
one needs like 4 cables/connectors whilst the other ... alot more.
tho, fuzzily imagining this thing, it would have been more or less a case with 5 micro SD-like slots and 2 or 3 "big" micro SD slots for all the components .. sold separately... hopefully getting a FREE android OS upgrade in teH same box that holds the new replacement CPU ... not ^_^
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Saturday September 03 2016, @04:09PM
The EOMA68 Free/Libre and Modular Computing Devices [soylentnews.org] standarrd primarily uses USB for interfacing with the rest of the system.
They do make USB cameras and cellular modems.
The only problem is that It may be a little bulky for the cell-phone form-factor.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @03:52PM
Someone will release a modular phone five years from now, and lots of people will rush to say "But Google thought of it first!"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @05:36PM
Every time I heard something about this, it was either not being released anytime soon or it was being shoved off for "testing" to one particular corner of Europe or something similar.
If this is dead, then it's because Google killed it in the egg before it even hatched. Probably microwaved it, to be specific.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 03 2016, @11:35PM
The whole point of this project was to kill off Jolla before it got big.
It was announced shortly after the Jolla modular concept. It was killed shortly after Jolla got out of the phone business.
The whole point was to get people who were on the edge of buying a Jolla to say, "Maybe I'll just wait for Project Ara."
Google did the same thing with Google+ and friend circles, to Diaspora.
And of course, Microsoft did the same types of stuff in the late 80's to WordPerfect.