Google announces Spiral 2, first modular smartphone from Project Ara to go on sale

On Wednesday, Google announced the Spiral 2 at the Project Ara Developers Conference in Mountain View. The Spiral 2 will be the first version of the modular phone that will be offered for sale, and the company has released a video showing how easy it will be to upgrade the these smartphones with modular parts.

The Spiral 2 offers mid-range specs, including a display with a 720 x 1280 pixel resolution, a 5MP camera, 3G, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The dual application processors include the Marvell PXA1928 and the NVIDIA Tegra K1.The battery module offers 20% to 30% less capacity than the average smartphone cell.

Overall the Spiral 2 has 11 working modules at present, a number Google expects to see hit as high as 30 by the end of the year. There will be a module offering an improved camera and another one featuring 4G LTE connectivity.

The Spiral 2 will be offered in Puerto Rico later this year where it has the advantage of being a small market, and is connected to the U.S. This will allow Google to work with the FCC on the project before it is widely launched.

Google Project Ara Configurator

The Google Project Ara Configurator app will be available to users to help them design and plan the use of their Spiral 2. This app will allow you to see what your Project Ara phone will look like before you buy it. It will also show you what it will look like after you've owned it and want to swap out some of the current modules for newer ones. The Configurator app will allow you to select things like the processor, camera, speakers and display.

The app launch later this year, at around the same time the Spiral 2 is released.



source - Google | AndroidAndMe | Slashgear