potentially open hardware that can be compatible with this google backed project ?
There is an upcoming developer kit ?
And developers conference ...
" We are excited to announce the first Ara Developers Conference, to be held April 15-16, 2014. The Developers Conference will be held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Registration is currently open to attend in person or online. Online attendees will be able to view a live webstream and ask questions. "
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Google released its first set of guidelines for developers hoping to participate in Project Ara, the company's platform for building modular smartphones. The first version of Project Ara's Module Development Kit was released Wednesday. "
based on this initial suggestion
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concept of having a single phone that you continuously upgrade over a few years, rather than wastefully replace in its entirety, could soon be a reality.
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The initial target is to sell a barebones endoskeleton for $50 at convenience stores. This phone will have a WiFi module, an emergency battery… and that’s it. To add more functionality, you would buy more modules (a screen, camera, some NAND flash storage, cellular modem) and slot them in. There will also be three sizes — mini, medium, and jumbo — with “jumbo” equating to roughly phablet sized. While Google intends to open up the modules to third parties, the endoskeletons will always be Google-branded. (They have to make their money somehow.) As it currently stands, ATAP is hoping that the commercialized modules will be 4mm thick, resulting in a phone that is 10mm thick.