Saturday, October 24, 2015

First Modular Smartphone

So, a smartphone designed with an expansion port, with standard connections? Sounds like something made for PicoP.

Perhaps SONY or Sharp will see a window to produce some PicoP modules for this. (It remains to be seen whether this will be popular enough to make it fiscally feasible -- but this is a place to watch. If they can create a STANDARD for cellphone expansion devices, then that feasibility will exist sooner rather than later. (Look to USB C!) 




Most smartphones out in the market try to dazzle consumers with their vivid display, powerful chipsets, enormous storage capacities and innovative features, but the Dutch-based startup Fairphone is planning on making a unique mark, taking a different approach with its modular smartphone.
The Fairphone 2 isn't alone in the modular smartphone scene, though, as Project Ara is in the works as well — for some time now actually. However, it seems that the Dutch startup beat Google to rolling out a consumer-ready modular handset.
The Fairphone 2 has seven essential assembly components, which are the battery, display, main chassis and back cover as well as the receiver, speaker and rear camera modules.
What's impressive is the back cover's expansion port, where users can install additional apparatuses such as NFC chips, wireless charging coils and even solar cells.
Every module is held in place by Phillips screws of the same size, so there's no need to remember which screw is where. The modules also have blue circles to indicate where the screws go.
The Fairphone 2 comes with a $580 price tag, and it's designed to last. It looks like Fairphone is swinging things into high gear and leaving Project Ara in the dust, as it's launching in select European countries in December 2015 and will arrive in other countries by 2016.

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