Are Modular Phones The Next Big Thing?

http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2015/10/fairphone-2-hands-on-modular-phones-are-finally-here/

Replacing a phone is a common thing. Most phones are designed to only be used for a few years before being replaced by the next model. Companies are cranking out new models almost every year just to keep up with the demand, and people continue to upgrade. What if we didn't have to buy a new phone every few years? Something that is big in the PC gaming community is the fact that you don't have to buy a whole new desktop just to upgrade your computer. All you have to do is buy a new part and replace it. What if this process was possible for phones? This is where module phones come in.

Module phones is a realitivly new concept that is only about a year old. Even though so young, concepts have been developed by 3rd party phone manufacturers, and most recently discovered that, Google. The concept of simply buying a better camera or a larger capacity battery sounds fantastic to me over simply buying a new phone.


Good things for the module phone idea:

1: You can design the phone.

For someone like me who is often on a small budget, this is like an answer from the heavens. I would be able to design my own smartphone, just like I can for a computer. I could concisely sacrifice some areas of the phone to buy better preforming parts in other areas of the phone.

2. Large selection of Parts available.

3. Cheap upgrades

Potential bad things:

1. Not enough manufacturers of different parts.

2. Software disaster.

3. Software updates?


Overall, I love the idea, but have doubts of it actually going anywhere far. If the first few module phones are successful, then there is future hope for it. If they get little sales, there is no hope for them in the future.