Phoneblok - a possible answer to planned obsolescence of smartphones

[bfrombleacher]

Saw this on the front page of youtube, thought it was worth spreading. Always nice to see genuine innovation stemming from genuine concern for daily problems/global issues.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDAw7vW7H0c#t=51

http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/phoneblok-a-tonic-for-the-iphones-planned-obsolescence

Edit:

You can visit https://www.thunderclap.it/projects/2931-phonebloks (or phonebloks.com when it comes back online) to show your support if you like the idea.

[JSD]

Oh wow, you  beat me to it by 2 minutes. I just posted this in my off-toppic thread.

[pearljammer10]

Amazing idea. Big companies will never go for it. Why make a phone that last for ever when they can make pos Iphones that break down every 6 to 8 months and cost 200 dollars to replace each time.

[Clench123]

Genius idea.  Fantastic.  Saves money, save time, and put big phone companies out of business.

[guava_wrench]

Wonderful idea, but I expect it will be underpowered for its size and weight. Each component has a casing, meaning a lot of space is being used by by non-functioning casing. Add to that the oversized connection pins, and you will end up with a phone bigger than the competition with nothing close to their power.

I actually find that phones last pretty well except for the battery so long as you avoid drops. I am just a sucker for the latest and greatest, so I tend to upgrade.

Also, if you are on AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint, you will likely upgrade anyway since you are entitled to it if you want to stay with your carrier for another 2 years. You also pay more for your plan, whether or not you take advantage of phone subsidies. At the very least, you should upgrade, paying $200 bucks for a new phone, and then sell the phone for $600 brand new if you don't want it.

If you are on T-Mobile, this idea makes sense since you are not paying extra monthly to cover subsidies.

[guava_wrench]

Genius idea.  Fantastic.  Saves money, save time, and put big phone companies out of business.

Do you mean companies that make phones? Because telecom providers won't care. They will still get your monthly plan money. It is Samsung, Apple, HTC, etc who will care.

[Clench123]

Genius idea.  Fantastic.  Saves money, save time, and put big phone companies out of business.

Do you mean companies that make phones? Because telecom providers won't care. They will still get your monthly plan money. It is Samsung, Apple, HTC, etc who will care.

Yup.  Those big business are the ones I was referring to

[lightspeed5]

This isnt good for many reasons:

1. because of hardware convergence, phones are first and foremost about the software and the operating system. it is not using any modern smartphone OS, therefore youre already using a gimped outdated phone that is not supported by any ecosytem of apps. it has no apps for it. but even if it did:

2. theres no use or need for interchangable parts. "if you love taking pictures get a better camera" we're hitting the point where all manufacturers, samsung, nokia, and apple especially, are producing phones with amazing cameras. there wont be a need to upgrade them.

3. the battery looks really small, even the "upgraded one." OEMs already have the best battery technology and the most compact yet powerful lithium ion battery that can possibly fit in a slim phone.

4. This thing doesnt look ergonomic at all. its sharp corners and cheap plastic looks annoying to hold.

not being part of an ecosystem is a killer. blackberry will let you know how not having any apps is good for business

[lightspeed5]

Amazing idea. Big companies will never go for it. Why make a phone that last for ever when they can make pos Iphones that break down every 6 to 8 months and cost 200 dollars to replace each time.

i dont see how this can last forever? it makes no sense, it looks easily broken because its held together by two microscopic screws and tape

[indeedproceed]

Amazing idea. Big companies will never go for it. Why make a phone that last for ever when they can make pos Iphones that break down every 6 to 8 months and cost 200 dollars to replace each time.

i dont see how this can last forever? it makes no sense, it looks easily broken because its held together by two microscopic screws and tape

New screws, more tape. Easy peasy.

[CapnDunks]

Android is open source, so it's not like this phone wouldn't have apps/software etc.

I use a desktop instead of a laptop for basically these same reasons.

So two things 1: it will be huge(relatively). 2: it's going to be VERY difficult to get companies to commit to making components for a shared platform like this.

[pearljammer10]

Amazing idea. Big companies will never go for it. Why make a phone that last for ever when they can make pos Iphones that break down every 6 to 8 months and cost 200 dollars to replace each time.

i dont see how this can last forever? it makes no sense, it looks easily broken because its held together by two microscopic screws and tape

New screws, more tape. Easy peasy.

Gorilla glue.