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Phonebloks is a new concept by Dave Hakkens, a designer from the Netherlands, for mobile phone manufacturing. Just like Lego, the idea is that phone features or functions are manufactured as separate modules, or little boxes, that can be inserted onto a 2 sided motherboard on one side, while the screen lays on the other.

Every smartphone owner has at some point or another complained about certain specs on their device or about a lack thereof. Quite a handful of people have in their mind concocted a fabled chimera made up of the HTC One’s body for example, Apple’s Retina Display, a Nokia PureView Camera, Droid Maxx’s battery, etc.

That could, though unlikely, happen if this project receives the right amount of backing.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Not everyone agrees on the best hardware though. Furthermore, not everyone wants the best hardware specs. Some might favor a big battery with a not so pixel heavy display for longevity - that was the reasoning behind the Moto -, some power users might want the fastest processor around as soon as it becomes available, some are quite happy to carry a point and shoot and do not give much credence to cameras on phones, and some just want to replace that chipped screen without coughing up another 600+ dollars.

The real motive

The reasoning behind the project though is different. Here’s the problem they’re trying to solve stated on the website:

“A phone only lasts a couple of years before it breaks or becomes obsolete. Although it's often just one part that killed it, we throw everything away because it's almost impossible to repair or upgrade.”

The claim is that this system so to speak will reduce waste created by discarded mobile devices by as much as 90%, and save you some cash, and heartache, along the way. So whether you want to upgrade your storage or increase your battery capacity, install a better camera or simply replace a broken piece, you would need not to discard the whole machine.

Parts can be purchased from the Blokstore, which is “like an app store for hardware.” Users can  also sell old bloks. The company is betting on manufacturers to join the fray and develop and sell these bloks on the store. “You can buy a pre-assembled phone or assemble it yourself.”

The phone will an open source OS, likely Android, but “this hasn’t been decided yet” according to the website.

Will it work?

It’s a long shot. Bigger players with simpler ideas have failed, but maybe this is what the market needs, something so drastically different that people would be willing to veer from the Apple’s and Samsung’s of the world. Whether mobile manufacturers, or electronics companies looking to join the mobile world, will want to get involved remains to be seen.

But if this works, it could very well be the last device you will ever buy. If you’re on board with that, make yourself heard on the subject on Thunderclap.

Newkia, Sailfish, Edge & CyanogenMod

This is not the first ‘rogue’ mobile endeavor. Canonical recently ran an Indiegogo campaign to launch the Ubuntu Edge: a concept 'superphone' exclusive to phone enthusiasts that would set the standards for the mobile industry according to the company. The fundraising failed to meet the $32 million target however.

Remember Maemo and MeeGo? That has now evolved into Sailfish and recently announced that the OS is now compatible with the Android ecosystem. The company also has plans to launch its own hardware by the end of the year.

After Microsoft purchased Nokia’s devices and services business, rumors suggested that part of the reason Microsoft made the move was because Nokia was considering releasing Android powered devices. That possibility has since evaporated, but we might ex Nokia employees want to recreate that project with Newkia.

Finally,CyanogenMod, the popular custom Android ROM, just raised $7 million and aims to build its own version of Android. It’s mission: become the third-most popular mobile operating system.

Update: On October 29th, Motorola announced that it will be joining hands with Dave Hakkens for a new endeavor called Project Ara, an open-source initiative for modular smartphones with the goal to "do for hardware what the Android platform has done for software."