Toshiba has teamed up with a Gujarat-based Einfochips to develop chips for Google's ambitious modular smartphone project, known as Ara.
"Google is designing modular smartphones in which different modules can be assembled as one smart-phone," senior vice president and chief technology officer, Toshiba, USA, Shardul Kazi is quoted as saying. "Toshiba will make chips which can be used in modules and in the base plate, and will give idea on what kind of modules can be developed," Kazi said.
Kazi further points out that two versions of the Ara phone have already been developed. While the Spiral-one and two have been made available to developers, the Spiral 3 will be rolled out to consumers. "Price will be fixed by Google. However, different modules will be ranging from USD 50 to 5,000,” says Kazi of the expected price of Ara phone.
Last month, Google had unveiled its prototype Spiral 2 modular smartphone at the Project Ara Developers Conference. The Project Ara Spiral 2 features Marvell PXA1928 and Tegra K1 dual application processors. It has a 720 x 1280 pixels display, speakers and a 5 MP rear camera. The modular smartphone will have inbuilt light and proximity sensors. Connectivity options included in the prototype are a microUSB port, 3G modem with band 2 Antenna, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth support.
Reports then suggested Google is already working on the Spiral 3, which will feature an improved camera, battery life, support 4G LTE connectivity and use an inductive system for contactless data connections between modules
Also read: Google to announce Project Ara updates in January , Puzzlephone set to compete with Google's Ara modular smartphone
Source: DeccanChronicle