Google Project Ara Will Have Exclusive Modular Components Store For Building Configurable Smartphone
Google is working on Project Ara, which will give the power to users to build their own smartphone by choosing their desired features. In the same way that we can configure a PC before purchasing it, users will get a basic frame of the handset that they can then be able to add desired components and build a smartphone at an expected price of $50.
According to various reports, Project Ara smartphones will be available for purchase in 2015. Paul Eremenko, who is the team leader of the project, revealed they will be building a dedicated store for purchasing Ara components. The component listing will be also feature recommendations and reviews.
In order to build a dedicated marketplace for selling Project Ara handset components, Google will be relying on the model of its very own Android app store. Eremenko continued that the Ara MDK is an open platform and available for free to all people, which gives the power to anyone to make a module just as anyone can create an Android app. And in the same way anyone adds an Android app to the Google Play Store for sale, anybody will also be able to add it for sale to the exclusive Ara store. By this, module makers will be able to sell their components directly to the buyers.
As of now, pricing of the modules are not known. Even how many components a buyer will be able to purchase has not been revealed. According to BGR, Google will reveal more information as the first Project Ara handsets become available for the purchasers.
GSMArena says Google wants to emulate the success of the app store by measuring success of the Project Ara marketplace by the number of apps present in the store. This means the Ara module marketplace may get filled with plenty of modules.
BGR states Ara smartphones will run on a customised edition of Android Lollipop. Project Ara began at Motorola when the phone maker was still owned by Google, but the search engine giant retained it when Motorola was sold to Lenovo.