Modular Phone Suggestion


How about this mockup of a modular phone?

https://grabcad.com/library/modular-smartphone-concept-1

The screen is the chassis of the device. The upper part is the cameras (one fix and the other retractable) and sensors module. The left part is the processor, memory, disk, antenna, sim card reader and finger print module All is connected with this central module. The right part is the bottons and the wifi antenna module. The bottom part is the battery, speaker and USB port module. The battery and the photo module can be removed to be replaced with a gamepad. The battery module can be charged without the other parts…

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You can’t design a modular phone from the outside in.
You’ll have to start with the components, see which ones fit your needs and are compatible with each other and then build modules around them.

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I just imagined the concept and i’m not a spécialist. Now if it’s impossible to make it fit in the dimensions designed, the dimensions can be modified.
I am speeking here about the design and the idea of a shell based on the screen material and the fact that we clip everything on it.

I can imagine Fairphone started out with some "You can’t"s of a similar sort … yet they could :slight_smile: .

There’s nothing to say against a little dreaming.
But @paulakreuzer is right about the hurdles of reality … right now this is just “See, I have imagination and I can do CAD.” … ok, well done.
How about a working prototype :wink: ?

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A mockup isn’t a concept. It is part of a concept.

Consider

They have no product either, but their mockup includes a concept.

So a better question could be:

“Can this help you create a concept?”

“May I join your team making concepts?”

“Does anybody want to collaborate with me on making a concept?”

PS: That being said, pretty cool you made this.

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Sorry, I’ve chosen the wrong words. I ment, as you mentionned, mockup and not a concept.
The idea here is to share something I wish it would be true one day. I’m not pretending to know every thing about smartphone. I just love high tech and try to do something about it. I have already own a blog about high tech (not very active one).
OK I will change my sentence.
And I would love to join your team making concepts but I don’t think I’m good enough for that.

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Hi @Hamdi_Habbachi.
I do not like the concept, and it is a little too much fruitable looking :wink:
This is why I think that way:
I see this is just a concept idea, so I like to give you some engineering experience and physical backround:

  • There are way to less contact pins on the sides of every module. To give yourself an idea how many electronical connections are needed and how much space they need, grab a screwdriver and disassemble some phones. You need to collect the needings first, then fit your design over it.
  • The concept with just the sides connected together are not manufacturable
    • How you like to fix the modules together? I see no threaded hole or a clamp anywhere.
  • What about any antennas? The reason you cant see antennas on modern mobile phones anymore doesn’t say that they aren’t there.
  • No front facing camera?
  • No 3,5mm headphones?
  • Where to put the sim card? Looks like it is inside the camera module. Does that makes sense?
  • No storage extension?
  • Where is the vibration drive, the microphones, sensors, LEDs
  • Is the speaker within the battery block, why?
  • Where is the ear speaker?
  • I could continue the list, but I think you get my point here.

Please don’t get me wrong. I appreciate your effort and your motivation pushing the modular phone design a bit more out of the niche. It just isn’t that easy. There is a reason why Fairphone is the only working phone available.
Very often I talk to people with ideas about electronics and how it cold be manufactured. It is my job to run first batches of industrial electronics through the production process, therefore I have a lot of experience referring to this.
I am open for discussion if you are interested.
Maybe that help Fairphone with the concept of the FP3 :wink:
So let´s continue…

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to explain a little more (always not an expert but a fan)
The screen is the chassis of the device. The upper part is the cameras (one fix and the other retractable) and sensors module. The left part is the processor, memory, disk, antenna, sim card reader and finger print module All is connected with this central module. The right part is the bottons and the wifi antenna module. The bottom part is the battery, speaker and USB port module. The battery and the photo module can be removed to be replaced with a gamepad. The battery module can be charged without the other parts…

Is it correct that the core module and the right notch slide module in the picture are hardly connected? That would increase the space for antennas a lot.
Why a game pad? There is a lot of stuff available for people who like to game with their phones. Also that doesn´t come together with the idea of saving resources, cause you can´t use it with another phone. And to make it more complicated, you need to shut down the phone, disassemble the top and bottom module, connect some other modules, restart. And after gaming you need to do everything in opposite order? And you are missing the bottom speaker, so there is no sound while gaming and no possibility to talk to someone handsfree on a call. Would you really like to handle that?
I also still do not like the idea of a module where the battery is not changeable. There is no need for that in a modular design.
But I do like the slide in design for the separete modules, even if I do not think this is practical in view of the needed connection between the modules.

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Yes it ment to be so

I’ve thought about it a little. The battery module can be reassembled with the gamepad controller and the controllers can came with better speakers (for gaming)

Yes it’s not the good exemple.
Do you suggest that the battery should be in a separate module? Good thinking! But then we create a new connection between the bottom and the battery (connection not with the core module).

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The main problem on your design is the connection between the modules with the little space on the side.
If you do not find a solution for this, your idea will stay as a dream forever.

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I like the fact that the battery and usb port is in one module and the battery can be charged separately, e.g. while you tinker with the rest of the phone, but obviously the battery still has to be detachable from the rest of the module so you don’t have to replace both if you need a new battery.
What I don’t like is that there is no rim covering the glass of the screen. If this phone falls down the glass will be shattered immediately. Btw, that’s not the only thing about the design that reminds me of an iPhone. :wink: E.g. is that even a normal micro USB port?

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I will think about it.

Yes. That’s the big problem. At first I thought about some thing like phone covers. A little bit plastic more than glass.

That reminds me of Project Ara which also consisted of a frame in which you can insert the modules.

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Knowing you lack certain qualities is a major step in overcoming such weakness. I’m glad you did receive some more in-depth feedback above. I recommend you look into previous projects to learn from predecessors/past. Here is another one, by Dave Hakkens: Phonebloks - Wikipedia

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