Mobile

PuzzlePhone promises to last up to a decade with interchangeable modules

Carl Lamiel December 2, 2014 · 2 min read

Listen to article

CICC cracks down on GoreBox after Tacloban school shooting NVIDIA announces Halos for safer AI-powered robots Apple rolls out iOS 27 beta 2 Why Every Brand Must Embrace Digital Marketing Today Samsung announces UFS 5.0 storage

If you’re looking for an alternative to the upcoming Project Ara smartphone by internet search giant Google, here’s one you can definitely check out: Finnish startup company Circular Devices have come up with a new modular phone concept they call the PuzzlePhone.

PuzzlePhone-backview

Following the footsteps of Google’s modular phone project, The PuzzlePhone also has modules — albeit simpler, with only three parts needed. It has the spine which consists of the main buttons, speaker and microphone, and an LCD display that the company touts to last up to a decade; the brain which is composed of main components and can be developed for any specific purpose; and the heart, which is the battery and any secondary electronics that come along with it.

PuzzlePhone-parts

While the PuzzlePhone modules boast endless customizations with the customer’s needs like Project Ara, it can be interchanged in a snap, making it easy for the end-user to be able to upgrade or downgrade their device without any assistance. Need a bigger display? Just replace the spine. If you want more power, you can opt to replace the heart with a bigger battery capacity.

The PuzzlePhone will run on an unknown forked version of Google’s Android mobile operating system ready to be deployed with hardware labeled as PPC or PuzzlePhone Compatible. Circular Devices hopes to release their new smartphone and get it circulated (pun) and shipped in 2015.

Source | Via

React to this article:

modular phone puzzlephone

Carl Lamiel

Writer

Get in touch with Carl at @lamielcarl on Twitter or visit his website for more updates!

1,181 Articles

View all posts by Carl Lamiel →

30 Comments

ewanlangha · 12 years ago

I’m still pondering whether this idea will help reduce our electronic waste or will only add more.

old discarded/replaced parts will end up in kiosk that will buy&sell these parts for a lesser cost

in a way it can help someone who wants to upgrade their units but don’t have the cash to get a new module

those who’ll discard theirs can also get at least something in return

I’ll swap my big Spine for your old Brain.

kwanaboo · 12 years ago

Imagine you breaking or scratching your screen

DIY snap in a new screen goodbye service center woes..

hoping · 12 years ago

So masasayang tong project na to..Project ara ay lalabas na this coming Conference January 2015. Inaantay na lang nila ang Feedback ng mga tao sa Conference nila at irrelease na nila ang phone na moduler and it will be cost only the phone a 4k to 5k only.

lawrence · 12 years ago

IMO people upgrade their phones not only because they want a beefier hardware but also they want a fresher/newer design of their handset, especially if there’s a newer design concept like for example when LG came out with G2. in short, nakakasawa naman ang phone mo na 10 years mong gagamitin na parehas ang hitsura, kahit sabihin pa na na-upgrade mo na ang “brain” at “heart” ng device mo. e ganun pa din ang hitsura.

Tapos, kung maglalabas naman sila ng bagong design ng “spine”, e di pinalitan mo na lahat: brain, heart and spine. parang bumili ka na ng bagong device! hehe

waaaaai · 12 years ago

the people who replace their phones kasi “nakakasawa” i think refers to call center people and climbers. no offense meant.

And if you do change all of the parts, at least you won’t do it all at once. plus after changing all the parts you end up having a lower end version XD that is “probably” compatible with the most recent Android Version

nokinoks · 12 years ago

Sa tingin ko kasi may mga tao din na katulad ko na gustong gawing “desktop” yung bahagi na ito ng phone. Wala kaming ganong keme kung pareho itsura ng desktop namen basta yung asa loob eh mahusay.

TacticalNinja · 12 years ago

@lawrence: Tama ka, iba iba taste ng mga tao. Yung iba eh kaya din nagpapalit para maipagyabang na bago ang phone. Sa point mo baka nga baliktad pa ang mangyari, Spine ang bago, tapos yung lumang modules ang lumapara maiba lang yung hitsura.

@nokinoks: May point ka rin, kaso nga lang hindi comparable ang desktop at phone. Pwede pa siguro kung laptop at phone. Kasi yung desktop mo gagana yan at magagamit mo yan kahit nasa likod pa ng aparador, o kahit nasa ilalim ng desk mo. Yung laptop at phone kasi nakikita mo yan habang ginagamit mo, yung porma (ergonomics!), yung gaan, yung kulay, etc.

nameless · 12 years ago

Hindi lahat. Meron ding mga tao na gagamitin at gagamitin ang phone hanggang masira. In this case, pag spine lang ang sira, spine lang ang palitan, pag heart lang or brain, yun lang ang papalitan. Mag uupgrade ng phone ang ibang tao base sa tagal ng panahon nya ding gagamitin. Kaya madami may gusto ng mga High-end specs eh para future-proof at matagal magamit din.

Siguro ang mga tinutukoy mo na karamihan na mahilig magpalit, either sirain ang gamit nila, o sadyang mahilig lang magpalit ng bago. For that case, mas ok nga na mag cherry mobile na sila tutal mabilis din maglabas ng bago :p

anon · 12 years ago

Mas maganda kung pwede maglagay ng os na gusto mo. Hindi yung nakatali na lang tayo sa dalawa/tatlo kumpanya.

Easy E · 12 years ago

I assume it will run on android. But you have to have a new build of android everytime you change hardware. Paano kaya nila ito gagawin

nameless · 12 years ago

Nope. Not necessarily.

archie · 12 years ago

Mas maganda ang build kesa project ara. “LCD display that the company touts to last up to a decade.” Baka nakasandwich na sa Gorilla Glass 4 kaya matibay.

Zobel · 12 years ago

I’ve seen that concept on desktops when diskettes ruled the land. I forgot what brand it was. This probably won’t take off. Buying China phones is still more practical.

anon · 12 years ago

Of course this won’t take off. Selling cheap products that immediate break and required to be replaced monthly/yearly is more viable for the current economic model and more favorable to the board of execs.

Global economy relies on yearly continuous growth.

But I still like this.