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An interview with the Director of the Project Ara Paul Eremenko was taken on November 10, 2014 by Brad Molen, the Senior Mobile Editor at Engadget.

About the Project Ara prototype, endoskeleton, electropermanent magnets, replaceable modules

Brad:
I am pretty excited because Paul has brought a prototype of the Project Ara smartphone. So, can you give us an idea of what is going on here? This is the first working prototype…

Paul:
Yes, absolutely. This is our first functional prototype, we call it Spiral 1 device of the Ara modular platform. And for those of you who are unfamiliar with Ara, it’s our attempt to create the hardware equivalent of the Android app ecosystem to really lower entry barriers for developers to create new functionality and introduce new technologies into the mobile space. Google here, as with Android, acts as the curator of the two-sided market between developers and consumers. We’ve released a Developer’s Kit, an early release is on our website www.projectara.com/mdk/ today.

I can show how the prototype looks today. We have a set of modules on the backside (1×2 modules, 2×2 modules). In this particular prototype there are no 1×1 modules which would be half the size of 1×2. But those will exist in subsequent versions of a smaller phone.
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The year 2015 promises to be really exciting for new technologies that will appear on the market. Such hi-tech industries as robotics and 3D-printing has truly popped out of the shadow. Drones for quick delivery of goods are becoming extremely popular. There are many other cool things as well. This has become possible as the production costs of the next-generation devices for mass consumers are dropping rapidly. This trend leads to even newer technology niches. One of such niches is modular smartphones. But it’s not just smartphones, let’s think beyond these boundaries – the niche will cover all mobile devices and gadgets with replaceable parts.

The idea of the modular smartphones is to upgrade or replace the phone’s parts individually according to user’s needs and preferences. Such parts might include a camera, processor, internal storage, battery, screen and all kinds of sensors. This in turn will save a lot of money for consumers, because there will be no need to buy a new device should you want to keep up wtith the trend. Several years ago only a few developers could see the future for such idea. By now almost all experts agree that modular devices will soon be part of a new highly demanded market. Companies that will present first functional modular phones are surely to become true pioneers of the modular era.

Let’s take a brief look at some of these companies’ projects. ...

We have recently published an article about Circular Devices‘ Puzzlephone, which is the competitor of Google‘s Project Ara. According to rumors, the Finnish modular smartphone Puzzlephone will appear on the market in 2015. But it’s not the only modular mobile device from Finland we are going to see in the coming future.

Another project of a kind is the Finnish start-up Vsenn, co-founded by a former Nokia Android X program manager. Vsenn motto relates to the ongoing evolution accompanying everything people use in their day-to-day life, and states “Evolves with you“. ...

Puzzlephone, which is expected to hit the market in 2015, is another modular cell phone designed by Circular Devices, a relatively young Finnish company based in Espoo, the hometown of Nokia.

Right now Puzzlephone is in developing stage as well as Google‘s Project Ara. Both phones are the pioneers of the upcoming era of modular phones, and is likely to be expected the most discussed phones of the next year. But there is one conceptual difference between them. While Google’s device will have up to 10 parts and a base panel, the Finnish phone will be made up of only three major components. They are the “Spine”, the “Heart”, and the “Brain” of the phone. ...