PuzzlePhone takes to Indiegogo to fund modular smartphone

Shawn Knight

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PuzzlePhone is one of the more intriguing modular smartphone concepts and it may be one of the first to market… that is, if its crowdfunding campaign generates enough interest (and money).

The concept behind PuzzlePhone is simple: to produce an upgradable, repairable and future-proof handset that consists of three key replaceable components.

The Brain contains the hardware that powers the phone like the CPU, GPU and the RAM. This module also houses local storage and the handset’s rear camera. The Spine is the primary structure of the device in which the other two modules plug into – the chassis, if you will. It is home to the display as well as the electronics that have a longer lifespan. The Heart contains the battery and a secondary set of electronics that can be developed according to user needs.

Drop the phone and break the screen? No worries, just replace the Spine. Feel that the device isn’t able to keep up as well as it used to? A new Brain with more processing power solves that issue. Is the battery no longer able to hold a charge? A new Heart will get you back up and running.

PuzzlePhone is seeking to raise $250,000 via Indiegogo flexible funding (meaning they keep the money even if the campaign doesn’t reach its goal). Just one day into the campaign, 95 people have pledged more than $42,000 – or 17 percent of the goal – which is a great start.

Those interested in contributing will need to shell out $333 for the “very early bird” 1st edition with 16GB of internal storage. A pledge of $444 bumps you up to a 32GB version with red accents while $546 doubles the storage to 64GB. All versions are expected to ship late next year.

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So I assume it runs android. Any word on the frequency of updates? Will I need to reflash if I want to upgrade the brain? Will it run stock android, CM, ece?

It looks well made, and just three compontents, made by the manufacturer, would standardize the modules and make them cheaper, but I want to know the nitty gritty details first.
 
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