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Phonebloks - concept design for customisable/easy-to-upgrade mobile


Adam Easy Wishes

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I am way way into this idea. However, wouldn't the "customisation" element be really hard to configure? If you plug a bigger camera into the slot where the battery should be, how would the chip register that it was being used for photos, not power?

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I am way way into this idea. However, wouldn't the "customisation" element be really hard to configure? If you plug a bigger camera into the slot where the battery should be, how would the chip register that it was being used for photos, not power?

The same way a computer recognises a bigger hard drive, memory stick or monitor by using PnP - http://computer.howstuffworks.com/pci4.htm

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I am way way into this idea. However, wouldn't the "customisation" element be really hard to configure? If you plug a bigger camera into the slot where the battery should be, how would the chip register that it was being used for photos, not power?

 

It shouldn't be that hard to implement - you can chop and change between usb devices with no fuss. The "Central" block, where you're plugging stuff into, will send a querey to each device that gets plugged in and that device will say "I'm a speaker" or whatevs. The processor will then simply reassign the pins each time you start up/reconfigure the phone.

 

xx

 

 

EDIT: /retardproofrehashingofMatt'spost

Edited by Stroopy121
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Great concept. Nightmare in reality.

You cant rely on people to 'construct' their own phone. Theyll fuck it up, they always do.

people (the masses who would be required to support the concept) dont even want a phone they build themselves... they want the best one some nerd has already made and they want it as soon as it comes out. Are they gonna announce a new 'block' every quarter?

So many individual parts is a recipe for disaster. 'Oh my camera fell off coz I dropped it'

The 'seems' would have to be loose enough to come apart easily to customize yet tight enough to withstand wear and tear... that doesnt exist. Imagine putting your phone in a tight jean pocket and it catches an edge, suddenly your screen is detached.

with the above in mind theyd need covers. Loads and loads of customizable, expensive to produce covers. Which may negate the whole swap in and out experience

If its a question of tessalating various sized blocks on a grid then you are limited in what you can put on your phone. You want a big fuck off battery, you'll have space for a camera and an ipod block and that's it. You want a wifi receiver? Tough shit, lose the battery cuntface. Youd be as well just buying the pre made phone that suits you.

That said id love it to become a reality

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Looks really interesting.  I'm just reading about modular synths at the moment - not the cheapest way to own a synthesisier but definitely a lot of fun.  If this were a standardised format for designing a modular phone you could potentially get a lot of independent developers working on parts you could end up with a decent "underground" market, much like the Eurorack modular synth crowd. This is a good way of getting more interesting innovation driven by what people want and need rather than what a huge corporationg tells them they need.  I'll probably still get an iphone next upgrade so they can store my finger print info and use it against me at some future point, framing me for a crime I didn't commit that some dude in a crime agency can see before it happens.

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