Puzzlephone: This concept turns old smartphone into a supercomputer

What do you do when your smartphone no longer deliver the performance you want? Discard it completely? But, a Finnish company believes that there’s a life even afterlife. Given the fact that electronic waste is becoming an increasing threat for our planet, Circular Devices has proposed a new idea where discarded smartphones can be turned into computer clusters. “We believe that a product’s life cycle can be extended beyond its initial planned usage, thereby delaying its obsolescence,” the company in a blog post. “Even if your smartphone can no longer deliver the performance you seek, it still contains a fully working computer, and there is no reason it should be discarded straight away.” With an aim to extend the life of smartphones and reduce e-waste, Circular Devices is working on a modular smartphone concept, called Puzzlephone. The technology enables smartphones to be easily upgraded by replacing the Puzzlephone’s Brain CPU module. [caption id=“attachment_2066679” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Puzzlecluster supercomputer at home: The First Reuse Application of the Puzzlephone[/caption] “The Puzzlephone Brain is a self-contained computer in a modular enclosure that is easily connectable. However, we are developing a state-of-the-art technology that will enable your old Brain modules to live on after you decide to upgrade.” Circular Devices’ Puzzlecluster – a computer cluster platform – based on recycled modular mobile technology will allow Puzzlephone Brain modules to be reused and connected to form a fully integrated computer cluster. Initially, the Puzzlecluster will include a power supply, internal connectivity for the Puzzlephone Brain modules and supporting peripherals and external connectivity. It will also provide slots for Puzzlephone battery modules, which will be used for built-in UPS functionalities. “It makes no sense to discard a perfectly working computer just because you have upgraded your smartphone. The Puzzlecluster will extend the usable life of the Puzzlephone Brain modules way beyond any other smartphone processor,” Alejandro Santacreu, Circular Devices CEO, said. “The Puzzlephone Brain is a fully functional low power computer ready to be integrated in the Puzzlecluster.” Our goal is to deliver a scalable product that can meet the needs of home users and small and medium enterprises, but also public institutions and data centres. Its applications can range from research and data analysis, to rendering farms and in-house cloud services, as well as any other case that requires parallel computing, Santacreu added. Circular Devices hopes to ship working products before the end of the year even though it hasn’t yet released a prototype. The Puzzlephone concept might look as a rival to Google’s Project Ara – which aims to enable users to create a modular smartphone that is precisely tailored to their functional and aesthetic preferences. While both concepts might look similar, but the team behind Puzzlephone  has a different approach than Google when it comes to modules. Also, the idea behind both Puzzlephone and Project Ara remains same that is to increase life of smartphones and reduce electronic waste.