Phonebloks is a modular smartphone concept created and
designed by the Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, primarily to reduce electronic
waste. 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 to replace a broken blok, to
upgrade an existing blok, or to expand the functionality of the phone into a
specific direction. 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. (Wiki) I am very excited about Phonebloks, there are so
many new technologic advances in the smartphone world and the advances are
happening every day. With traditional smartphones most people sign a 2 year
contract with their carriers to save money, this means unless someone wants to
pay full price for another phone, they are stuck with the same phone for two
years.
I remember when I got the Samsung Galaxy S4, I was amazed and blown away
(and switched from an iPhone) I felt like I wouldn’t need a phone in two year
because the S4 was too amazing, then in a short year I got to mess around with
the S5, again I couldn’t believe how much faster it felt in comparison to the
S4. Phonebloks reminds me of deskop computers, we are able to buy computer
parts and upgrade them when we want, traditional smartphones reminds me of
gaming consoles (Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation, and Nintendo Wii), we are
very limited to what we can upgrade. Again with most new HCI ideas there are
causes for concern. Most smart phone users want a lightweight, sleek design,
something that is great to look at and easy to use. Phonebloks looks, well like
blocks. It’s very “clunky” and pretty bulky.
The whole idea behind Phonebloks
is to allow users to upgrade their phone with the newest technologies without
the need for buying an entire new phone. Phonebloks also wants to eliminate
“electronic waste”, I don’t really understand how Phonebloks is going to
achieve this, given the fact that the device with offer many different versions
of the same parts to complete a customer’s smart phone. (i.e. camera, memory,
ram, CPU, etc.) Overall I think the idea is an amazing one, I am excited to
upgrade my phone whenever I want without having to break the bank to do it. In
order make Phonebloks work I think the creators must come up with a more
desirable design, something more sleek and lightweight, rather than a bulky.
Also, I think there should be multiple versions of the smartphone (size, color,
etc.) something that fits everyone needs. Phonebloks has a huge backing both
financially and socially, however I don’t think we will see a marketable
version of Phonebloks for another year/year in a half. I would go as far as
saying Google will release their version before Phonebloks does.
Check out this video of Phonebloks
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