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Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

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Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#121

Post by bane »

eli wrote: post #110
bane wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I could get an Android phone that's twice as thick as my current one, with the volume made up of a huge battery, regardless of how heavy it is, I'd buy it tomorrow. This obsession with thinness and lightness is something I frankly don't care about in the least.

Then I've got great news for you: http://gorillagadgets.com/ I've got one myself and it works exactly as you describe -- heavier, nearly twice as thick, but with roughly twice as much juice.

Thanks! On my list for my next phone purchase.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#122

Post by eric_cc »

This is not marketed at me.

My phone buying thought process: Does this phone have the software I care about? Are apps tested to work with my exact device? Sold.

I do not want to spend a split second thinking about modules or RAM or anything and I'm a very technical person. I cannot imagine my mom dealing with this crap.

What is the market here? I would pay a premium to NOT deal with modules.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#123

Post by anigbrowl »

netcan wrote: post #51

A musing about the aesthetic of modular: My first 21st century "gadget" (for some obviously arbitrary definition of the term) was an ipod nano. I'm not very sensitive to the niceness of things in general so I was pretty surprised at how much I liked how it looked and felt in my hands. It was, cold metallic, small, sleek and completely solid. It had no give in it at all and felt like a magic rock. The solidness of it…

You are the sort of person who would enjoy using modular synthesizers.

* Not responsible for possible bankruptcy/ divorce/ loss of employment resulting from acting on above advice

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#124

Post by anigbrowl »

eric_cc wrote: post #122

This is not marketed at me. My phone buying thought process: Does this phone have the software I care about? Are apps tested to work with my exact device? Sold. I do not want to spend a split second thinking about modules or RAM or anything and I'm a very technical person. I cannot imagine my mom dealing with this crap. What is the market here? I would pay a premium to NOT deal with modules.

I will certainly get one. Think about it like a little prototyping computer platform. I don't know if I'd make it my main phone for the reasons you describe, but I would definitely like a portable battery-powered computing device with modular capabilities, like a little Raspberry Pi that can go in my pocket instead of being stuck on the desk.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#125

Post by anigbrowl »

jan_g wrote: post #22
sdfx wrote: post #8

I think John Gruber over at Daring Fireball said it best: "I remain highly skeptical that a modular design can compete in a product category where size, weight, and battery life are at such a premium. Even if they can bring something to market, why would any normal person be interested in a phone like this?" http://daringfireball.net/linked/2014/04/15/project-ara

I tend to agree with Gruber on this one. Modular phone might be perfect for me (will see when and if it gets released), but I am not sure it can attract the masses as well as polished, high-end phones from Apple, Samsung, Nokia, etc. Size, weight and appearance do matter a lot to average customer.

But so what? It's perfectly OK for a product to appeal to a small niche as long as it breaks even. I am so tired of the conceit (mostly put about by lazy journalists) that there must be only one best product in any category. That just leads to lowest-common-denominator approaches in which quality is judged on popularity alone.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#126

Post by abruzzi »

netcan wrote: post #101
abruzzi wrote: post #93

Once upon a time, when I was younger, I felt very strongly that I needed a computer with everything replaceable. I wanted to replace a CPU when it got too slow, new graphics card, upgradable RAM, storage, etc. But I found that in the end while I'd make small upgrades, I still replaced my computers at close to the same rate. That because some standard that was built into the old machine was no longer fast enough or wi…

I think the PC analogy is wrong. I also framing this as money saving option is wrong. The potential is in flexibility. Phones are small. Tradeoffs are substantial. Some people would prefer 50% more battery life at the expense of the camera or weight. Maybe someone can make an e-ink screen that will double battery life. Some people might want to spend $800 on the camera. IMO, that's the benefit. Commercially, I see th…

Perhaps, but (at least in Android) existing phone selection gives a pretty wide range of possibilities without incurring the drawbacks of the modular design. Admittedly, you can't buy a phone with high end CPU/memory/storage and low end screen, but I suspect there is a fair amount of predictability in what people will pair together. I think you find a lot of people who would buy a top of the line phone with everything--i.e. the equivalent of a flagship Samsung phone--and a lot of people that that are not spec/capability focused that want it to basically work--who would be happy with most 'free with contract' type phones, and the people that want that unique mix of features are a small minority.

This is my experience with most of the people that I know or work with, and it could be selection bias. But I don't work in a tech hub. I work with people that make low to mid range salaries at a local government agency in one of the poorer parts of the county.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#127

Post by stackcollision »

eric_cc wrote: post #122

This is not marketed at me. My phone buying thought process: Does this phone have the software I care about? Are apps tested to work with my exact device? Sold. I do not want to spend a split second thinking about modules or RAM or anything and I'm a very technical person. I cannot imagine my mom dealing with this crap. What is the market here? I would pay a premium to NOT deal with modules.

Once this is out, you are paying a premium to not deal with modules by not getting one. It's a $50 phone you can swap components in and out of as upgrades become available. To me, that's infinitely better than buying a new $300 smartphone every other year.

But there's also a second appeal. Right now, phones are impenetrable black-boxes. You get what the manufacturer thinks you want. The reason I think a modular phone will become very popular is the same reason the AR-15 is the most popular gun in America: because you can play with it. You can swap parts in and out depending on what you need.

"Oh, I'm going hiking today? Better stick my extra-big battery and wide-field camera into my phone."

"Apple's putting a new zillion-byte SSD in the iPhone 9Q? Well good thing I can just buy the zillion-byte module for my modular phone instead of having to buy a whole new one."

And a million other examples.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#128

Post by anigbrowl »

sdfx wrote: post #8

I think John Gruber over at Daring Fireball said it best: "I remain highly skeptical that a modular design can compete in a product category where size, weight, and battery life are at such a premium. Even if they can bring something to market, why would any normal person be interested in a phone like this?" http://daringfireball.net/linked/2014/04/15/project-ara

Why offer electronics components to the general public? After all, most people don't want to create their own electronic devices, therefore making such things available in retail channels is a complete waste of time. I'm not too sure about screwdrivers either.

I can't believe people are giving Gruber's arguments the time of day on a news site for hackers.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#129

Post by Guvante »

eric_cc wrote: post #120
lewaldman wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you guys are missing the point here. The point is: A barebone model for 50 bucks that you could transform in a high-end device expending more money on it when you can afford it. Also... need more battery life? Why not replace that extra RAM memory module for battery one? Or even... why not to replace the 4 Gb RAM module for one with 1Gb + more battery?

I get what you're saying and yet the more I read about this the more I find myself shaking my head thinking how stupid this really is. It's clearly not marketed at me. I will continue to buy standard STRESS-FREE devices.

Not every device is made to satisfy the entire market.

And they have already acknowledged they plan on having "effort free" choices available for consumers. Probably have a "about the same as a Samsung" option, a cheap option that has the important bells and maybe a minimal option you can build off of.

Re: Project Ara – Google's modular phone project

#130

Post by Guvante »

Zak wrote: post #25

I find this interesting in contrast to Nexus devices. Two or three years ago, most Android phones had SD cards and removable batteries. These features have been conspicuously absent from recent Nexus phones in spite of their appeal to the power-user and developer markets who are among the most likely to want such features. I hope it gets some traction. I'm seeing a lot of sameness in high-spec Android phones, and som…

Nexus doesn't have a storage slot because no one has found a solution to the storage dilemma. How do I add storage without bringing back the broken file explorer interface?

Also the market has shown a preference for size and look over replaceable parts, so not surprised Google went that way.

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