TelecomTV TelecomTV
  • News
  • Videos
  • Channels
  • Events
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • Open RAN
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • 5G
  • Access Evolution
  • Private Networks
  • Cloud Native
  • Edge
  • Open Networking
  • Sustainability
  • AI, Analytics and Automation
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Security
  • More Topics
  • Network Partners
  • Industry Insights
  • Directory
  • Newsletters
  • |
  • About
  • Contact
  • |
  • Connect with us
  • 5G
  • 6G Research and Innovation
  • Access Evolution
  • AI, Analytics and Automation
  • Cloud Native
  • Digital Platforms and Services
  • Edge
  • Open Networking
  • Open RAN
  • Private Networks
  • Security
  • Sustainability
  • Connect with TelecomTV
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Sign In Register Subscribe
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
    • Register
  • Search

News

News

Motorola deconstructs the mobile

Oct 30, 2013

We’ve been waiting for a customisable smartphone for years now (anyone remember the Lego Phone rumours?). We thought the wait was over last year when Google said it would bring customisation to phones through its then recent acquisition of Motorola. Instead, all the Moto X really delivered was a wider choice of colours, personalised engraving on the case, and a special start-up message. Not very inspiring.

However, Motorola is teasing us yet again with the prospect of customisation. This week the company revealed some early details of its Project Ara, which it describes as an “open hardware platform for creating highly modular smartphones”.

Project Ara is led by Motorola’s Advanced Technology and Projects group, who say they “want to do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software: create a vibrant third-party developer ecosystem, lower the barriers to entry, increase the pace of innovation, and substantially compress development timelines.”

Their stated goal is “to drive a more thoughtful, expressive, and open relationship between users, developers, and their phones”. The idea is that we, the buying public, get to decide what our phone does, how it looks, where and what it’s made of, how much it costs, and how long we’ll keep it.

The design consists of what they call an endoskeleton and modules. The endoskeleton is the structural frame that holds all the modules in place. A module can be anything, from a new application processor to a new display or keyboard, an extra battery, whatever. Motorola’s team say they will be working with Phonebloks (which really does look like the dream Lego phone!) and its community of developers to create a global phone platform that is modular, open and customisable.

Paul Eremenko of the Motorola Advanced Technology and Projects group says they have been working on Project Ara for over a year: “In a few months, we will also send an invitation to developers to start creating modules for the Ara platform. We anticipate an alpha release of the Module Developer’s Kit (MDK) sometime this winter.”

At the moment, Ara and Phonebloks look too much like university experiments (fabulous concepts, very worthy, but able to become mainstream commercial products…?). Motorola has a lot of work to do if it really wants Ara to become a reality, let alone prove that a market actually exists. And if nothing else, it puts Motorola back in the innovation spotlight. We wish them the best of luck.

Related Topics
  • Analysis & Opinion,
  • News

More Like This

Access Evolution

Head of China’s homegrown microprocessor industry fund arrested in fraud scandal

Aug 9, 2022

Access Evolution

What’s up with… FCC, Spirent, HPE and VMware

Aug 9, 2022

5G

Eyes on the prize: BT pioneers four-carrier aggregation on a 5G standalone network

Aug 9, 2022

Digital Platforms & Services

Two technologies set to boom, driven by the shift to the cloud - Gartner

Aug 8, 2022

Access Evolution

SoftBank falls on hard times

Aug 8, 2022

Email Newsletters

Stay up to date with the latest industry developments: sign up to receive TelecomTV's top news and videos plus exclusive subscriber-only content direct to your inbox – including our daily news briefing and weekly wrap.

Subscribe

Top Picks

Highlights of our content from across TelecomTV today

0:46

The Cloud Native Telco Summit returns this September!

8:32

Azita Arvani on Being a Female Leader at Rakuten Symphony

16:19

AT&T Amy Zwarico on securing telco applications in the public cloud

1:44

Join us for the greatest industry debate of the year!

TelecomTV
Company
  • About Us
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
Our Brands
  • DSP Leaders World Forum
  • Great Telco Debate
  • TelecomTV Events
Get In Touch
[email protected]elecomtv.com
+44 (0) 207 448 1070
Connect With Us
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Terms of Use
  • Legal Notices
  • Help

TelecomTV is produced by the team at Decisive Media.

© Decisive Media Limited 2022. All rights reserved. All brands and products are the trademarks of their respective holder(s).