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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Modular Smartphone Concept (Phoneblocks)

Great, this is very very much like my design for modular expandable mobile computing. Also good timing, I could use something like this to simplify the manufacture of some products without making and patenting it myself. I am very interested in making a block in future.
 
This is a horrible idea. The whole point of a phone is that it runs on a "System on a chip". The reason we have nice small smart phones is because they build all of those "blocks" into a single really compact piece of silicon. The more pieces you have to attach the more superfluous connectors and junk you need. It also ignores the pace at which technology advances. Someone releases a new camera. Sweet! Oh but you need a new CPU to power it. Oh and there is a faster LTE standard now so you should probably replace the modem. Oh but you also need a new antenna. Oh and your RAM is no longer compatible so you need more of that. Oh and your 16GB microSD card is now super slow by comparison, might as well get a 64GB one for what you paid 2 years ago. Everything is getting better so fast that you wouldn't want any of the old crap from your phone. There is no such thing as a "phone worth keeping". You'll just end up paying more than you will for an entirely new phone for each module which adds up to an astronomical waste of money and it'll be an ergonomics disaster.
 
Gavin Greenwalt said:
This is a horrible idea. The whole point of a phone is that it runs on a "System on a chip". The reason we have nice small smart phones is because they build all of those "blocks" into a single really compact piece of silicon. The more pieces you have to attach the more superfluous connectors and junk you need. It also ignores the pace at which technology advances. Someone releases a new camera. Sweet! Oh but you need a new CPU to power it. Oh and there is a faster LTE standard now so you should probably replace the modem. Oh but you also need a new antenna. Oh and your RAM is no longer compatible so you need more of that. Oh and your 16GB microSD card is now super slow by comparison, might as well get a 64GB one for what you paid 2 years ago. Everything is getting better so fast that you wouldn't want any of the old crap from your phone. There is no such thing as a "phone worth keeping". You'll just end up paying more than you will for an entirely new phone for each module which adds up to an astronomical waste of money and it'll be an ergonomics disaster.
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The important thing is if it sets up a standard for on board modular components, the blocks can be used on board precertified for electromagnetic interference. Small manufacturers can now more easily "lego" designs together of various hardware, even as hybrids of custom circuits using modules. I've looked at many ways to do this across many scales looking for viable methods for products.

So. .., there are a number of possibilities, that might come through and offer potential.
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I agree that for Samsung a custom design is probably cheaper and smaller, but things are advancing so fast, apart for a whole phone heart in one large module, individual blocks can start to look like pins, so a small cheap phone ca still be made and maintained. For me I can have a rugged phone where sure enough some things could be upgraded, but it allows me to add non standard modules and features, in a camera, upgrade the sensor. In the other scheme we (me and others) can put a very large array of small processors on a board that has enough power to do everything in future standards for years leaving only external interfaces to add. You should read the stuff I have written about parallel processing and recustomisable interfaces, even illustrating how it can be used to replace normally more efficient custom ic designs at an advantage, and replace analogue components in repairs. Manufactures with custom technology can also put it in blocks, even using these arrays, that can be easily added to ease manufacture. I can assure you that a proper block interface has uses (not to mention for the hobbyists and custom engineered single/small run items). For now it is just a good start to open interoperability. The usual Red stuff is childs play. Mind you I need to investigate it more to eye how good this version is. The number one thing is to go through the arm and other manufacturers new bus standards, using appropriate efficient on board standard (I personally would like to look into the mobile tb standard). The probem is that it isn't so obvious in electrical interfaces, it depends on the fine balance of advantages and disadvantages as to which will be best to use. One good thing is that somebody has implemented a wireless component interconnect idea like my old concept, even leg, but they lack my near 100% efficient laser source methodology. Things are not as simple more or less, until you make it so.



Thanks


Wayne.
 
This is a completely failed idea by someone that has zero understanding of technology and the market. something that a 5 year old could come up with after playing with Legos for the first time haha
 
Think about it Jacek ..

The mechanical engineering aspects are a big aspect to hold everything in place, particularly the ports.

I have not seen any rational argument here against the underlying premise of the concept, then again not even many engineers can see the future. I can tell you though they are likely in for a lot of design work to get it right enough for stable long term use without revision.
 
This is CONSUMER market-if they don't get that they can forget getting anywhere. OK I'm done with this nonsense...
 
Hmm, here is a good example on a page I went to:

http://global.samsungtomorrow.com/?p=28442

It is embarrassing they have not done this years ago. Around 2004 I was exploring using physical barriers to funnel photons to pixels, and other things, particularly for high incidence angle fast lenses, and I wondered about the wavepattern caused at this size by the light hitting the edge. Still it is so obvious, you could just incorporate it into a color filter mask instead. Yet, a lot of people wouldn't complement it, I was even looking at special prisms on pixel arrays to replace 3 chip, eventually one manufacturer came up with a solution similar to the 3 color alternative scheme I replaced the prism scheme with, but then I was reasonably read in public (I wonder if I also wrote about the barrier thing in public). Most people can see so little of what is in front of them they think that there is no more.

Good grief, I just realised the haven't figured out how to get rid of the microlens array either, but there is a reason not too.
 
Jacek Zakowicz said:
This is CONSUMER market-if they don't get that they can forget getting anywhere. OK I'm done with this nonsense...
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Oh, I am too. Give them a break, they have a long way to go, but at least they have something. The only nonsense is putting people down without proper arguments. Over and
 
I get what people dislike about this, however I still think it is important to spread these kind of concepts to keep everyone and their mom from running around with iphones. Competition is always good and even if this is not a competitive product yet fresh wind may come a long way when enough people are interested in not owning refurbished old concepts that cost waay too much.

That being said I own a samsung galaxy and I like it a lot. Still I think there's quite a few things best selling phones are missing and hopefully some fresh heads will come up and take a shot at advancing the market.
 
Joris van den Berg said:
I get what people dislike about this, however I still think it is important to spread these kind of concepts to keep everyone and their mom from running around with iphones. Competition is always good and even if this is not a competitive product yet fresh wind may come a long way when enough people are interested in not owning refurbished old concepts that cost waay too much.

That being said I own a samsung galaxy and I like it a lot. Still I think there's quite a few things best selling phones are missing and hopefully some fresh heads will come up and take a shot at advancing the market.
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It is really a product for some people and manufacturers. It is more important for low volume manufacturers and individual contracts. There are many low volume mobile phones in Asia, that engineers are contracted to design on 3 month timelines. Such a system allows much of it to be done with single standard modules plus optional modules. It shifts the work to mass produced modules with large economies of scale. Without it only bigger manufacturers are likely to dominate sales, but this allows smaller competition to start up. The benefit of possible future precertification of common modules helps in other markets. Even for larger manufacturers. they can drop in replacements to a old design. Chips are already going this way with standard interfaces, and if people look into top phones there are heaps of components in there and design work. As long the modules form part of the thermal envelope cooling system it shouldn't be much of a disavantage in size on many designs as the module could become skinny and get most functionality in a postage stamp form factor. Indeed the way to go for chips is a common bus approach so different versions can be just slotted into a design, this could just be an extension of that to modules. But then again these guys are not here to hear this.

What people dont realise is this is already done with all in one sensor modules from sensor manufacturers even used by big mobile maufacturers, and other modules. Maybe people can tell them how stupid they are for doing that aswell. This bloc interface might go towards helping that module process.
 
Jacek Zakowicz said:
This is CONSUMER market-if they don't get that they can forget getting anywhere. OK I'm done with this nonsense...
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The current rate of consumption is clearly unsustainable - disposable technology epitomizes this problem. Any effort to minimize or at least begin to address the issue is also the start in changing the way with think about consuming. I can't image that effort not being a good one.
The idea that I can have a current up-to-date camera (like RED) for the next 5 years would be unthinkable if it was not for the upgradability and modularity of the camera design. I see no reason not to apply this concept to other technology.
 
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In reality, most of the phone can be in one board, with the processor, memory, gpu if seperate, can be on a seperate module/modules, and that would give you 90% of the benefit. You can have sensors and breakable components, like antenna etc, as pin plugins like on a bread board too. People are too much an either or, leaving no room for third ways of advancement. The video game console industry in a classic, they struggle to give development head space to more than two players, when we could support 10 with cross development tools, and if you add up the portables and computers you get close to 10.
 
As have seen first year students knowing nothing about phones or the technology are able to put together ones as if the components were Lego-brick, and then make calls with such phones, I would say this kind of things are definitely possible. As Wayne says things centralise towards a single board, and consequently, the glory days of phone production are approaching the best before date -if not already there.
 
Joe Pontecorvo said:
The current rate of consumption is clearly unsustainable - disposable technology epitomizes this problem. Any effort to minimize or at least begin to address the issue is also the start in changing the way with think about consuming. I can't image that effort not being a good one.
The idea that I can have a current up-to-date camera (like RED) for the next 5 years would be unthinkable if it was not for the upgradability and modularity of the camera design. I see no reason not to apply this concept to other technology.
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It works because with Red at least 50% of what you're paying for is your portion of development costs. Not so with consumer electronics.
 
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Hmm, you are paying pretty hefty costs with cutting edge phone products, though you might not be paying 50% development costs, development costs could easily be a hundred times what Red has spent, for that phone. The reason why, is that it shares a lot of technology, every part, with other products across multiple industries and history, so the development cost is spread amongst these products thinly. I've got a quote on a simple processor capable of taking on Intel etc, but it is still a lot for me, for Intel the costs are far more because of orders of magnitude of increased complexity. However, Intel's volumes allow it to keep the price down with a healthy profit, allowing AMD to keep going too on lower volumes and profit.
 
The best way to test the theory is get it out there and see what happens. If the modules are the right price then it might work, otherwise maybe it's simply not cost effective. I'd kill to be able to simply swap out the battery on my phone for longer life.
I don't know much about cell phone technology other then my iPhone makes a better internet device then a phone. Seems like I had better quality and fewer dropped calls when it was an analog signal.
 
It will only be a success if it is a success, however good it maybe, even a successful failure.

The wisdom or the ancients.
 
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