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Technology moves at a rapid pace. Nothing is a better example of that than Project Ara. What first started as seemingly a fantasy has blossomed into a legitimate product in a little over a year. In June we witnessed an Ara device get powered on for the first time. It was stuck in a bootloop, but even that was seen as a huge success. Fast forward a few months and we’re already seeing fully working prototypes.
Last week Phonebloks published a video with a fully working Ara device, and today a Google employee showed off one at Engadget’s New York event. It’s able to play Angry Birds, watch Beauty and the Beast, and most importantly, swap modules on the fly. Project Ara devices will come with an app that allows you to turn off the magnet for certain modules so you can slide them in and out.
During the presentation the Googler was able to remove a module and replace it with a heartbeat scanner. All of this was done while the device remained powered on. The heartbeat scanner really shows how amazing Project Ara can be. Imagine doctors being able to simply add medical instruments to their devices. It’s an amazing technology that gets more real every day. Are you excited for Project Ara?
I was actually kinda disappointed Eremenko didn’t demo the EPM lock/release mechanism on stage. Perhaps those are still a work-in-progress?
I am so getting one
I’m pretty excited about this, and I’ll be even more excited if/when it makes it to market. I would love to own something like this.
Its a touch fugly
That’s cuz it’s a prototype…
HECK YA! Bring it on, Phoneblock
Loving it! Holding on to my N5 until I see if Ara can be a reality in 2015.
I am curious about battery live compared to regular phones. I will definitely buy one if the run smoothly and the battery is good enough.
Don’t drop it, you’ll be picking it up for days.
“Are you excited for Project Ara?”
I am now that it looks like it might someday really come to exist.
I like the idea but I have the distinct feeling it won’t just be plug and play. There will likely be a lot of issues between hardware and software to overcome.
Project Ara has a lot of potential. We may soon be upgrading our phones rather than buying whole new devices. Nexus Ara SDcard module? Sign me up!
I was jazzed when I saw the PhoneBloks concept, really excited when I heard that Google picked up the idea, and now I see how this idea could totally change the mobile landscape. Incredible.
I’m assuming the modules will come in different colors?