Phoneblocks - let's make this happen

[carnex]

The whole point of the thing is to demonstrate that there is a massive demand for a phone like this, if it's done right.

"If it's done right" is one of the most worthless qualifiers someone could add. Of course people would be interested if it's done right, but we're talking about tech promoted sight unseen with no actual or apparent thought behind it.

And so that's what they get: support with no apparent thought behind it.

It's not proving people have a massive demand, it's proving people will "like" any nifty idea.

It's not too much to ask to want your phone to be more like a desktop, and there's not even much of a technical challenge. Hell, you can already 3D print your own custom Nokia cases for some phones and switch optical lenses on the camera without replacing the whole thing. The industry just needs a nudge in this direction and chances are at least one of the companies will get it right.

With size come problems. Very specific positioning of components to save space and manage heat, dozens if not hundreds of connection per component, manufacturing process, shell for each specific component...

You can't really customize your lap-top or notebook like you can desktop computer. Imagine how much more problematic something as small as phone is.

I'm not saying it's impossible just that it's really problematic and not practical in the end. So much would have to be sacrificed from size and power to price.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I liked the ideas but I know for sure that the companese like Apple, Sony, Samsung etc won't allow it. Sure those companies can just sell their phones as those blocks but I don't think it will work for them to cooperate like that.

 

[Something Amyss]

It's not too much to ask to want your phone to be more like a desktop, and there's not even much of a technical challenge.

And someone's saying it is too much to ask?

Because I haven't seen it yet.

However, what they're pitching goes beyond desktop customisation and into the realm of full modularity. Which is nice, but that's not going to nudge anybody.

 

[Something Amyss]

s.
I drop my phone far too much as is, and dropping that thing looks like it would send parts in every direction. (as is I already have the backing plate, my battery and my SD card go flying off in whichever directions)

I'm pretty careful with my phones, but my last phone I had this exact same thing happen a lot. It actually seemed like my battery was spring-loaded with a hair trigger, because if I even dropped the thing six inches it'd fly off of its own accord.

My current phone has a TPU back/case and that hasn't happened, but still. Yeah. Not exactly optimistic for a LEGO phone holding together.

 

[ForumSafari]

This is a bad idea for many many reasons, the least of which is that it kisses goodbye to optimised OS spins, you can't optimise for variable hardware. This isn't a good way to package a mobile battery either, it's better if the battery can span the length of the phone. It's also a bugger for cooling the phone because there's not a way to fit a decent heat sink. It's also a dumb way to fit a wireless antenna.

Next the idea of trying to cram anything serious through a small number of pins is laughable, there's a reason home printed PCBs aren't used to build desktop PCs; the work is too delicate. The i/o on the baseboard would be pitiful, forget anything more taxing than a simple dialler.

Besides, by the time this becomes possible and desirable we'll probably not be using phones as we know them. If you want to accomplish the same end goals in a far less stupid manner look at streamlining green phone recycling. Rare earth metal reclaiming and battery recycling are the biggest hurdles, make it profitable and give out ten dollar/pound discount vouchers on a new phone when an old one is recycled.

tl/dr; This is a flight of fancy pitched by someone who isn't 100% on how modern phones actually work.

 

[4RM3D]

Looks interesting, but the powers that be will massively ***** slap this project into oblivion. So unless the inventors can get some serious backers and good financing this project will not happen.

The idea is still nice though.

 

[hutchy27]

I like the idea and would like to see it happen. Instead of build a bear have build a phone, be able to make the perfect phone for you, different colours, cases etc.

 

[somonels]

Sounds kinda stupid to claim to be reducing electrical waste by producing more of the shit. They can try to change the industry or the consumer habits and fail doing either. Not that it's a bad idea, I would have found it neat 5 years ago, but currently I'm too bitter to even think there's a chance for them to start something up. Way too many obstacles to overcome with essentially no backing.

 

[Gennadios]

I hate to be 'that' guy, but yeah, the guy who made the video has no engineering background.

The reason smartphones can even be as small (and fast!) as they are is because individual chips and circuits are designed to work with each other from the ground up.

In the proposed design, let's say you swap the small camera for the larger one, the processor is more than likely to shit itself and die because it's (A) not likely to be optimized for every single brand of camera block out there, and (B) a high megapixel camera takes alot of processing power. Meaning you'll either HAVE to buy a specialized processor to go with the camera (the whole point of the video is to not have to do that...) or buy a really expensive and large processor to handle it, crowding out the battery.

So, yeah, to cram enough circuitry into each individual block to make the addons self-sufficient, they need to start a little larger. Have this guy develop a chunky tablet on the concept first, and have him come back to us with the phone.

 

[Angie7F]

I only needed 1 minute to be sold out with this idea!
I currently own a iPhone 4S and the new 5S is out but I dont really need it.
If we could just phone block, it would be so much easier to decide when to make the swap.

 

[Hoplon]

Ok, it's been a while posting here... so long in fact that I had to look for where the "New topic" button is. I have a tendency for making long, or maybe just bad/boring posts, so I'll try to keep it as short as possible. If someone wants to rewrite this better, go for it, I don't mind, I'd just like it to be seen. This goes for the News section too, let's get it up there please guys, it's definitely newsworthy

Right - the idea is simple and detailed in the following video:

I'm not going to explain the video as I can't do it justice. The base idea however is simple, making a phone out of parts so that when one stops working, you can replace the part and not the whole phone. Also, customization, but really, just give the video the 3 minutes of your time, it's well worth it.

Now, I realise the point of these forums is discussion and that's fine. We should discuss it. However, what I'd like to ask you is the following - if you think it's a good idea, try and make it happen. Don't go "Oh this'll never work, I'm not going to waste time on it". If you don't like it for whatever reason, that's perfectly fine. But if you do, don't let cynicism get in the way of it. It's a share or two and a small price to pay to just try and make something like this happen, give it a decent chance.

If you like the idea, you can help here:
https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/2931-phonebloks

Thank you if you took the time to read, share or comment on this

TLDR: If however you need a short version of it, just watch the video above.

While it's a nice idea it's not actually doable. no universal interface for SOC's, blue tooth and batteries exists and it's unlikely too, for a verity of reason not least the different requirements.

 

[Zipa]

I don't see what the big deal is in regards to repairs, smartphones can be repaired with the right parts and tools, even iPhones. Plus there are plenty of shops that will do it for you for a not unreasonable amount of money.