One of the most exciting new developments in the smartphone arena is Motorola’s Project Ara. With it, Motorola is looking to build a truly modular smartphone that would allow the customer to upgrade and swap out hardware components much as they already upgrade and install different software today. One of the reason that Motorola went public with the project is that they want to solicit input from smartphone users on the direction that the project should take.
A phone designed for 6 billion people should be inspired by at least a few thousand.
To do so, Motorola is looking for Ara Scouts. These people will have the chance to help shape the direction for the project by participating in what Motorola calls special missions. Essentially, once a month or so, Motorola will solicit input from these Scouts about particular topics relating to Project Ara. Each “mission” will be completed by providing Motorola with feedback in the form of photos, ideas and commentary using the free dscout app on their phone.
Motorola is slowly making progress with Project Ara. In an interview today, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside revealed that a prototype already exists. At the same time, he indicated that it will be a while yet before it becomes reality. If and when it does, it could well be something that would be offered through Moto Maker (something we thought might happen).
If you need more incentive than the opportunity to shape the direction of future smartphones by becoming a Project Ara Scout, Motorola offer this little extra: “If together we can make Project Ara a success, a hundred of the most active scouts will receive an early release version at no cost.” Can you imagine being the first on your street to own a Project Ara modular phone?
Source : Project Ara