When it was disclosed by the company in 2013, Google’s Project Ara immediately turned heads because it promised to produce a modular smart phone which would greatly reduce costs, allow users to swap just the malfunctioning or no longer working modules with new ones (instead of the total replacement of the phone), allow them to customize what modules they would want on a given phone in the first place and not least of all, help in the quest for sustainability and taking care of the environment, by greatly reducing the waste caused by throwing away such precious resources as those found in a phone.
This project is supposed to have its first pilot testing in 2016.
But it seems like another company has moved a bit faster towards the same goal, though with a different approach.
I am talking about the PuzzlePhone modular smartphone first announced by the Finnish-based companies developing it a year after Project Ara was announced (in 2014). However, despite announcing their intentions later than Google by a year, they seem to have actually managed to up-end them.
Because the first finalized PuzzlePhone is set to launch sometime in September 2016. And a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo is already open to interested early buyers.
True, Google’s Project Ara has in mind developing a series of interchangeable, individual components so you can make your phone however you like, while the PuzzlePhone modular smartphone is based on a simpler approach, namely having the same three modular components for each phone (the “brain”, “spine” and “heart”), that can each be replaced with an homologous component.
But homologous is the keyword, because these new components, apart from replacing malfunctioning or no longer working ones, can actually be upgraded, better versions of the former. So, in essence, though simpler than Project Ara, the PuzzlePhone is efficient and serves the purpose of having a functional modular phone on the market as soon as possible.
It also has some pretty cool functionalities and features, namely: 1080 x 1920 pixels 5 inch display, an octa-core processor, 3 GB of RAM, two cameras (the primary a 12 MP, the secondary a 5 MP) and 16 GB default internal storage, or 32 GB or 64 GB internal storage (depending on how much you are willing to pay extra).
It runs on Android and is made out of eco-friendly materials, both traits which will surely appeal to a wide range of users.
The starting price for the basic model, on Indiegogo, is 333$. The priciest version features engraved words of your choice and the 64 GB internal storage and costs 777$.
