Friday, March 7, 2014

PhoneBloks:
        Phonebloks is a modular smartphone concept created and designed by Dave Hakkens to reduce electronic waste. The user can customize them as they wish to.  While Phonebloks is not the first attempt at modular design in a phone , it is notable due to the extent of its modularity and the attention and support it has garnered. By attaching individual third-party components (called "bloks") to a main board, a user would create a personalized smartphone. These bloks can be replaced at will if they break or the user wishes to upgrade.
Bloks would be available in Blokstore, "an app store for hardware" where users could buy new and used bloks as well as sell back their old ones.

            Phonebloks would consist of a main board onto which bloks could be snapped on by the user like bricks. Each blok is responsible for a unique function of the phone, much as a desktop computer has a distinct sound card, graphics card, processor, monitor, and power supply. As a result, instead of replacing the entire phone when it becomes obsolete or broken, one could simply replace the defective or performance-limiting part. 

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