Does the word ‘Phonebloks’ ring a bell? No?

Well, if it doesn’t, check this video out first:

Phonebloks: How It All Started

Phonebloks is an idea about a phone that’s designed to last, and aims to reduce the electronic waste that comes from the numerous smartphones, devices, and gadgets that people use and throw away on a regular basis. Phonebloks envisions to have mobile phones designed in such a way that it would be easier to repair or upgrade certain components by simply removing the specific part, rather than throwing the whole phone away and buying a new one.

For example, if your phone is getting kind of slow, or if you want a better camera for your phone, instead of buying a new phone to replace the old one entirely, you can just remove the camera part and the processor part and replace them with the ones you want. This opens up a lot of possibilities for phones, such as the capability of “building your own phone”, or personalizing it in such a way that it satisfies your needs and/or wants for a phone.

It was meant more as a movement for raising awareness rather than a project for making an actual phone. Dave Hakkens, a Dutch designer from Netherlands, first came up with this idea when his camera got broken and there was no other way to fix it than to buy a new one. He started thinking of a way to make consumer electronics last longer and not get obsolete after a few years of use. He came up with the idea of Phonebloks, and he thought of this because he wanted to lessen the electronic waste generated by millions of people around the world.

A month after he posted the video, the concept began to spread through different avenues, and they started to talk to different phone companies to see who was interested in working with them to make their idea a reality. “One company stood out: Motorola.” Hakkens says in the second video that he posted on Phonebloks. He says that Motorola has over 40 years of experience in developing mobile phones, with the company being the first to make one. Now, they have been working on a project for over a year: Project Ara. This project aims to make a modular phone, similar to what Phonebloks wants all the other phone companies to do. This project is under the Advanced Technology and Project group, which is now under Google.

Putting Two and Two Together

Hakkens found out that he and the people working on Project Ara have similar views on a new kind of phone: “modular, open source, designed to last, and made for the entire world”. Check out the video here. From then on, they started working together to make a phone that is good for everyone. After all, you have your project team and an online community to support the project and give comments and suggestions! That’s pretty helpful, and knowing that they’ll be updating the whole world on what’s happening with the project, it’s really something to look forward to.

After around year when Project Ara was introduced to Phonebloks, they checked for updates on how the phone was coming along. Hakkens went to NK Labs to check out what was happening with Project Ara. They showed how the whole process was being done, and even gave viewers a demo of the phone. After the phone booted up, a home screen (in the style of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean) showed up, and the touch screen was fully responsive. This seems like a great improvement after Google ATAP showcased Project ARA in the Google I/O Talk that happened on June 26, 2014.

Recently, Google announced that it will be having a mini market pilot launch in Puerto Rico, sometime January 2015. They will be putting out food-trucks-turned-mobile-kiosks so that people from all sorts of backgrounds and experiences can demo the phone themselves.

As of now, there’s still no news regarding the full launch since Google doesn’t see Project Ara being put on shelves just yet. Regina Dugan, Google ATAP’s director, says that they might add another two years to the development of this project. They don’t know yet whether or not the full market launch of the device will happen any time soon, or if it’s going to happen at all. Rest assured, they will continue on with Project Ara and see where it goes.

What’s Happening with Phonebloks Now?

A lot of other companies have also heard the voice of the community Dave Hakkens and his team started. From the concept of a modular phone expanding to different gadgets and appliances, the idea of a modular device has been spreading all over the Internet for the past year. With companies like Google, Lenovo, and lots more getting in on the idea, it’s generating a lot of possibilities for devices we could use in the near (or not so near?) future.It’s been over a year since Phonebloks started, and suffice to say, a lot of good things are coming for them. Phonebloks even announced that they’ve gotten a partnership with Sennheiser and are still looking for other companies interested in supporting their cause.

Author’s Extras:
Follow @getphonebloks (https://twitter.com/getphonebloks) and @ProjectAra(https://twitter.com/ProjectAra)to get more updates.

To read more on Phonebloks, Project Ara, and similar projects on modularity, you can check out these links:

Blocks – a customizable smartwatch
http://www.chooseblocks.com

Lenovo’s ThinkPad Stack – Modular office accessories
http://www.popsci.com/ces-2015-office-accessories-go-modular-lenovos-thinkpad-stack

Puzzlephone – A simpler take on the modular smartphone
http://www.wired.com/2014/12/puzzlephone-modular-phone

Samsung’s Simband – A new modular smartband
http://www.samsung.com/us/globalinnovation/innovation_areas

The Hive’s Amplicity – A modular PC the size of a smartphone
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2866077/the-hives-amplicity-is-a-modular-smartphone-sized-pc-with-a-graphics-card-dock.html

Xiaomi’s Magic Cube – modular phone vs Project Ara Phonebloks
http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2013/12/12/xiaomi-magic-cube-modular-phone-vs-project-ara-phonebloks

ZTE’s Eco-Mobius – Yet another modular phone
http://www.cnet.com/products/zte-eco-mobius-modular-concept-phone

Sources:

Dave Hakken’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqA-SppbeUi5ou0isB27mgg

Phonebloks Website
https://phonebloks.com/en

What is Phonebloks?
http://blog.phonebloks.com/post/66725983279/what-is-phonebloks

Project Ara Hands-On: Google’s Modular Smartphone Sure Is Modular
http://gizmodo.com/project-ara-hands-on-googles-modular-smartphone-sure-i-1679530908

Don’t Expect Google’s Modular Ara Smartphone Anytime Soon
http://gizmodo.com/dont-expect-googles-modular-ara-smartphone-anytime-soon-1679445855?rev=1421259621047

Project Ara
http://www.projectara.com

Project Ara: hands-on with Google’s latest modular smartphone prototype
http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/14/7547529/google-project-ara-prototype-hands-ontf

Building blocks: how Project Ara is reinventing the smartphone
http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/15/5615880/building-blocks-how-project-ara-is-reinventing-the-smartphone

Google to keep Motorola’s Advanced Technology group, including Project Ara modular phone
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/29/5359068/google-keeping-motorola-advanced-technology-group-project-ara-phone