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| Project Ara
Project Ara is not, technically, a phone. It's not even that accurate
to call it a project. It's more like a mission. The end goal for ATAP is to hand off a viable product and stewardship of a hardware eco system. Google is
working with open-source development organization Linaro to
develop a special edition of Android for the Project Ara customizable
smartphone.
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| Project Ara |
Google’s yet unreleased Project Ara is a build-your-own smartphone that
allows users to mix and match features. The $50 configurable smartphone will
come
with an empty phone frame and screen, and users can snap on or take out
modular parts from the rear of the handset to add or remove features.
The smartphone, which will ship early next year, has already sparked the
development of Lego-like modules that can be attached. Google has talked
about
detachable antenna and camera modules, but developers are also considering modules for wireless networking, gaming, storage and thermometers.
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| Paul Eremenko, head of Project Ara |
Google already offers a module developers kit (MDK) for Project Ara
platform through which developers can take advantage of the UniPro hardware and
protocol stack.
Grey couldn’t share any more information on release dates for the OS,
citing a confidentiality agreement with Google. He did not say whether the
version of Android would
be based on the latest L release, which supports 64-bit ARM processors. Linaro is working on Android with Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects
(ATAP) unit, which is leading the development of Project Ara.
However, more details about the Android edition may be shared at the
second Project Ara developer conference scheduled for the end of November,
which is when Google
Google’s Project Ara modular
smartphone will take the smartphone universe by storm next
Why Project Ara Sounds Awesome
never really seemed like a commercial
product would be available anytime soon. However, Google’s ATAP division is moving quite
fast and the first module developers will soonbe able to devise their own
modular smartphone concepts. In anticipation of the first Project Ara
developers conference that takes place next week Google has released the MDK
– short for Module Developer Kit – that describes the project in great
detail.
In other words, Project Ara seems to be more real than ever. The
available documentation goes into great detail, describing what devs have to
know about Project Ara in order to create their own smart blocks.
Google also shows the various potential designs of Project Ara,
both when it comes to size, but also to module placement. A recent video has also shared more
details about what future Project Ara configurations will have to offer, as it
was likely looking at a page of the MDK. What’s not immediately clear is how
developers will actually build these modules and make them available to
consumers.
The MDK can be downloaded by anyone interested in potentially
developing modules for Ara, and the documentation should further be updated in
the future. “This is a very early version but our goals are to give the
developer community an opportunity to provide feedback and input, and to help
us ensure that the final MDK – anticipated at the end of 2014 – is elegant,
flexible, and complete, Google ATAP’s Paul Eremenko,
head of Project Ara, wrote on Google+.
Google’s Project Ara modular smartphone is more than just a dream for a distant future, as the company plans to show off its first working prototype in the near future. In fact, Google plans to start selling a commercial version of the device as soon as next year, Time reports. As it promised in a new Project Ara video, Google revealed that the first Ara developer conference will take place during April 15-16 at Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum. “A year or so from now, it hopes o have a product on the market,” the publication says.
Google’s Project Ara modular smartphone is more than just a dream for a distant future, as the company plans to show off its first working prototype in the near future. In fact, Google plans to start selling a commercial version of the device as soon as next year, Time reports. As it promised in a new Project Ara video, Google revealed that the first Ara developer conference will take place during April 15-16 at Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum. “A year or so from now, it hopes o have a product on the market,” the publication says.
Despite likely being a costly research project, Project Ara
won’t be an expensive smartphone. In fact, the most basic Project Ara device
will apparently retail for $50. For that price, the device will have just Wi-Fi
connectivity, with users expected to
further expand its capabilities with future module purchases. That way, users
won’t have to settle for cheap smartphones that can’t be improved and instead
opt for an Ara starter kit that can evolve in time, and which could be turned
into a high-end device as more modules are added.The central piece of the device will consist of the endoskeleton
that’s going to be Google-branded and come in three sizes, for mini handsets,
“mainstream” devices and even phablets. The bigger the endoskeleton, the more
modules it’ll be able to house, with the medium version having space for 10
modules.
Google plans to offer buyers complete freedom when customizing
their devices, departing from the design of current smartphones. “Though basic
technical issues are sometimes a factor — an antenna can’t just go anywhere on
a phone’s body, for instance — the general idea is to design the phone so that
you can swap modules in and out at will,” the publication writes. “If you never
take photos with your phone but worry about running out of power, for instance,
you might choose to do without a camera module, freeing up room for a second
battery.”
The modules will be hot swappable, meaning that users will be able to change them without powering off the device – that’s assuming the battery module isn’t removed.
The modules will be hot swappable, meaning that users will be able to change them without powering off the device – that’s assuming the battery module isn’t removed.
“Another part of the phone-picking process could involve
suggestions based on an automated examination of your Facebook or Google+ activity.
If your updates show that you’re a frequent traveler, for example, you might be
advised to go for a big battery and a wireless carrier with service in the
destinations you frequent. Someone whose photos get lots of positive feedback
from friends could be pointed towards a serious camera module; if those photos
tend to be taken at dusk, it might be a camera with good low-light
performance.”
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