Project Ara - as compelling as it may be - is no longer the only modular smartphone game in town. A new startup by the name of Vsenn is looking to go toe-to-toe with the Google-backed company.
Co-founded by a former Nokia Android X program manager, Vsenn is taking a slightly different approach to the modular smartphone concept. Project Ara will allow users to buy and swap all sorts of modular components through its marketplace but Vsenn is keeping it simple with only three upgradable components: the camera, the battery and the processor / RAM.
The idea of less flexibility may not appeal to all but truth be told, these are the three most important aspects of a smartphone and often it's one (or all) of these features that people aim to upgrade when eyeing a new handset.
Vsenn will load its inaugural handset with a vanilla version of Android with guaranteed updates for the next four years. What's more, the startup claims the phone will employ triple layer encryption and they'll even provide free access to a VPN network and a secure cloud.
The startup's Twitter account looks to be a solid place to keep tab on the latest developments. Just yesterday, it was revealed that one of the screen's they'll offer will be a 4.7-incher with a 1080p resolution (468.7 pixels per inch).
I'll be the first to admit that Vsenn is making an awful lot of promises, especially for a startup whose website consists of a single page. But if Vsenn can indeed pull off what they're claiming, their offering could be incredibly fascinating.