Google plans to start selling Project Ara modular phones in 2017

Google plans to start selling its mobile phones with modular, replaceable parts - the first phone ever that the tech giant is manufacturing - by next year, according to a media report. The Project Ara team, involved in developing the product, confirmed that the modular phones would be available to consumers next year, technology website The Verge reported on Friday. The Google modular phones will work on a simple concept - once a basic model is bought all the bits can be pulled off and swapped as the consumer sees fit. For instance, if a user fancies a more powerful camera module he can buy one through Google’s dedicated store and replace the existing one with it. The same can be done with other components as well including memory, battery, display panels, keyboards, sensors and scanners. “It’s a system that will allow more space for modules,” The Verge reported after taking a look at the prototype of the modular mobile at Google headquarters in California. “They let me try saying ‘Okay Google, eject the camera module’ and it straight-up worked: a tiny latch inside the phone body moved when I set the phone on the table (face down) and the module released,” the report said quoting the website’s executive editor Dieter Bohn. “There’s still work to do here - Google needs to ship, it needs to get module partners on board, it needs to make the whole thing a little thinner and nicer looking,” he added. IANS