Motorola on late Monday announced a new open hardware initiative known as Project Ara, which seeks to become the the hardware version of Android. Specifically, Motorola wants to make it so that many companies rally around a single project with their own innovations and products. Boiled down, Motorola thinks we’ll be soon carrying around modular smartphones that are mix-n-match components that suit our needs and wants.
Here… watch this video.
Project Ara aim is to let users create the experience that matters most. Are you a camera-totin’ Instagram lovin’ social media fanatic? Maybe you’ll swap out speakers for a better lens/sensor. Don’t care much for the bells and whistles and only want something to last days on end? No problem. Done right, we’ll be holding on to our devices much longer.
We’ve been working on Project Ara for over a year. Recently, we met Dave Hakkens, the creator of Phonebloks. Turns out we share a common vision: to develop a phone platform that is modular, open, customizable, and made for the entire world. We’ve done deep technical work. Dave created a community. The power of open requires both
Imagine being able to simply swap out the radio and SIM card slot for another carrier. Imagine being able to add a specific sensor or display as it becomes available. Imagine swapping out the module that houses the OS with a newer version. Or a branded experience. Â Or a ROM distributed by the community.
The project expects to begin inviting developers to create modules for Project Ara over the coming months with an alpha version of a module developers kit this winter.
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