It looks like Google’s plans to release Project Ara for commercial use this year might actually happen. The search giant has just unveiled Spiral 2, a prototype for its modular smartphone design that will be available at a dedicated developer conference in Puerto Rico in the second half of 2015.

There are reportedly 11 working modules for the Spiral 2 and Google is planning to get up to 30 options available before the end of the year. Available modules include dual application processors (Marvell PXA1928 and Tegra K1), a 720p display, 5MP camera, 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios, battery, microUSB port and a speaker.

As mentioned already, Google is bringing the phone initially in Puerto Rico in partnership with local carriers. 

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites
     

At its current rate, it looks like Google’s modular handset – dubbed as Project Ara will hit its target of an early 2015 release. According to the project’s team leader Paul Eremenko in an interview at the Purdue University, the smartphone will come with its own store for its modules once the smartphone launches.

He also added that the store will be very much like Google Androids Play store with an inventory of components, recommendations and reviews. Moreover, the MDK (module developer Kit) will be free and accessible to everyone, which should help improve and diversify the module ecosystem much like Google Play.

What’s interesting is how Google plans to make all this happen. Basically, Google wants to give module developers to directly sell their developed modules directly to consumers. But the question is, who will manufacture these modules? Will module devs be restricted to only those with manufacturing capabilities or will there be a third party to facilitate the building process? Well we’ll just have to wait for Project Ara’s official announcement next year to find out.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites
     

Google’s Project Ara Developer Conference kicked off this week and obviously the announcements in the event was all about the future of modular phone design and other avenues in which the technology can be used to improve customer experience.

As with previous reports and the release of Project Ara’s Module Developer Kit, the smartphone will be offered in three sizes – mini, medium and large, and will feature different input layouts. It will also sport an endoskeleton in which different components of the phone (called modules) will be connected using electropermanent magnets. These magnets serve as place holders for the modules as well as a toggle switch for users to easily turn each module on and off.

Google’s ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects) division is targeting a January 2015 release date with a specific focus on emerging markets. The team is actually planning to take the market share of feature phones by offering a barebones device which they can build over time using different components.

Moreover, ATAP is planning to release a “Grey Phone”, which is a pre-packaged device that comes with a screen, a processor and a Wi-Fi module that should cost Google $50 to build (retail pricing is yet to be confirmed).

Also present at the conference was Toshiba, who showed a presentation on how the company plans to expand the use of modular technology beyond smartphones and into other devices such as wearables.

Photo Credits: Engadget

The company’s Senior VP and Technology Executive Shardul Kazi presented a slide at the event that gives details on how Project Ara’s modules can be removed from the phone and placed into other devices such as a smartwatch.

Kazi was quick to point out that the concept is for now purely theoretical and is not yet in development. But nonetheless, it does open a huge opportunity for manufacturers to save cost of production by creating modules that are compatible with different devices. At the same time, this would also allow consumers to save a lot of money when it comes to upgrade costs.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites
     

It looks like the dawn of modular smartphones is almost upon us as Google has recently released the Module Developer Kit for Project Ara, which should help developers build components for the upcoming modular phone.

According to the GDK documentation as well as information from previous reports and rumours, the modular phone will be built in three sizes – mini, medium and large. There will also be different layouts for input methods including touchscreen-only, QWERTY keyboard and even a numeric keypad layout.

Google’s GDK also includes guidelines on dimensions for each component so as to encourage uniformity. Moreover, the search giant is encouraging developers to build common modules first including processors, display units, Wi-Fi chips and batteries to name a few.

Lastly, the search giant plans to release several Ara MDK’s within the year as well as hold a series of developer conferences.

Connect with The Techie Lifestyle on your favorite social networking sites