The year 2015 is just around the corner, and Google is going double time to complete the Project Ara modular phone, in time for its release in summer next year. In one of their recent interviews, Google confirmed that they have NVidia and Marvell working on application processors (APs) for the said project.
The NVIDIA module is said to be Tegra K1, with four ARM Cortex-A15/two NVIDIA Denver cores, Kepler-based GeForce graphics with 72 stream processors, and no baseband capabilities. Marvell, on the other hand will be having the Armada PXA1928, with four ARM Cortex-A53 cores, Vivante GC5000 graphics, and 2G/3G/4G communication support. The two companies could something more on their AP modules to further enhance the device’s performance.
The two modules mentioned applies on first generation units, with the Spiral 3 prototype scheduled to be released sometime in Spring 2015. The new models will be using Toshiba's second-generation UniPro switch and bridge ASIC that would support contactless M-PHY data transfer. Google should start selling the first Project Ara smartphones next year, but there’s no word yet whether they willll be using the Spiral 2 or Spiral 3 chassis or not.
The idea of a modular smartphone was officially announced October last year and has received a fair amount of skepticism from the public. Project Ara has been Google’s endeavor for the past six years, starting with a practical but dull design of a device with multiple ports to a fully sealed handset that’s about to get its debut next year.
The device consists of a simple frame called the “endo” (short for endoskeleton) that comes in three different sizes with a certain number of grids arranged in groups og 1, 2, 4. Mini has 10, medium has 18, and the large endo has 27.
The front of the endo is dedicated for a display panel and a few smaller modules, while the back side can be personalized with lots of different other modules.
Now that the first models of the Project Ara modular phones have been unveiled, along with a long document explaining how it will work, this could be Google’s most significant and popular project.
