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Modu Unveils Modular, Transformer-style Phone
An anonymous reader writes "A company called Modu has come up with an innovative take on a mobile phone. Instead of giving you the finished product, you get a base unit and a choice of 'sleeves', which you can plug the base unit into and turn it into a variety of devices. "If, for example, you're going out clubbing, you can pop it into a fashion sleeve with a fancy design. If you're on a business trip and you need a phone with a Qwerty keypad and large screen, you just have to pop it into a 'jacket' with those features." There's also the option to plug it into a satellite navigation device or even a car stereo. While it seems like an interesting system, I wonder whether modular devices are better than buying standalone products or all-in-one products?"
What, not even Soundwave?
I like you, Stuart. You're not like everyone else, here, at Slashdot.
Anybody know if this is an open design? If there is support for third parties to develop and sell sleeves without heavy licencing limitations it might be interesting. Otherwise it will probably go the way of betamax - overtaken by cheaper, more widely supported alternatives.
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
Actually, it appears to be a very basic phone unit, with the transmitter, antenna, etc, built in. Think of it like a cell phone PC Card that can plug into a variety of host devices.
Only real difference is it seems to have a base functionality without the host.
.....you're going out clubbing....Unless 'going clubbing' means taking a +1 Club of Awesomeness, this particular example is worthless to the
The two differences seem to be
1) The base device can supposedly function "stand-alone"; however, it looks like it must be a pain to use in that way. Not sure the advantage of using it stand-alone...
2) The base device brings more of the "common" functionality with it from jacket to jacket, so there's no need to buy that piece of the system over and over again.
There's an intuitive feel that (2) creates an economic advantage, and I guess for someone who would otherwise buy multiple mobile devices there might be (depending on the actual pricing, factoring in bundling -- which seems to defeat the point, but whatever). Is it cost-advantageous if I only use it with one jacket? Two? Five? How many cell-based devices do I have to "need" before this becomes economically useful to me?
That's my question, then: how much need does any given person have for a bunch of devices to which he or she can add cell phone capabilities? The car radio looking thing and the nav device might be interesting if they integrate the cell service in an interesting way, but couldn't you do the same thing wtih an inexpensive data cable to the phone (and maybe a car mounting kit, which you can easily get today)? The only particular advantage to building the devices this way (IMO) would be to leverage an already-existing deployment of Modu base units, and clearly there's not one.
As for the hand-held sleeves, like one with a larger screen and QWERTY keyboard... maybe useful, but are there trade-offs (like is the combined device bulky or otherwise clumsy when compared to a stand-alone unit)?
Then again, the fact that they lead with the example of a "stylish" cover you'd use to go clubbing probably indicates that I'm not the target audience, since I find that indescribaly stupid.
Many Slashdot readers do not understand that while convenience is a sliding scale, there are important thresholds along the way that enable (or disable) certain applications. For example, what you state is entirely correct: you can swap SIM cards around different devices.
However, most people don't do that regularly, probably because you generally have to remove a battery to reveal the SIM slot and so on. The SIM is also not designed to be plugged and unplugged many times, so you may develop contact problems after a while. Finally, the SIMs that I'm familiar with can't generally store all the data (full contact information, email logs, browser bookmarks, etc.) that you want to take along with you.
So, if the idea is to switch "sleeves" daily or more than daily, then the SIM solution is just not convenient enough. Not to say this Modu phone will solve it, but no, you don't already have this.
OK, so "If, for example, you're going out clubbing, you can pop it into a fashion sleeve with a fancy design. If you're on a business trip and you need a phone with a Qwerty keypad and large screen, you just have to pop it into a 'jacket' with those features." makes it a "modular, Transformer-style phone".
Does that mean that if I start out in my underwear (the "base unit") and then, if I'm going out clubbing, I put on some fashionable clothes, possibly incorporating fancy designs, then later go on a business trip wearing a suit and tie, plus maybe pop on a wristwatch for some extra functionality, does that make me a "modular, Transformer-style human"?