Brainstorm: less functionality per device, more devices

Hans L thehans at gmail.com
Thu Jul 5 09:30:12 CEST 2007


I really like this sort of lego block approach to mobile devices.  Some
people want bluetooth, some want gps, some want cameras, some want wifi,
extra storage, IR, etc, but not everyone necessarily wants all those
things.  I think this is a situation where mobile devices could take an
example from desktop PCs.  I am dreaming of some future devices consisting
of cases which can hold various module blocks.

The most basic mobile device would contain three things:
1. Case: this would provide the main housing for all modules, and include an
user input buttons, displays, etc.
2. Main CPU module
3. Power module (essentially just a battery)
Everything else would be an optional peripheral module, connected over some
standard bus (i2c?)
The number and types of peripherals supported would mostly depend on your
case type.

For example with this concept you could theoretically swap your GSM module
with a CDMA module, update your software and you're good to go on your new
network.  Another scenario could be that a user only wants or can afford the
base model at the moment.  Then later they can decide to add that bluetooth
or gps module they are missing.  Defining a standard battery form factor
would be pretty awesome in itself.  People who prefer the minimal devices
could get the smaller, more portable cases which only fit a few modules,
while others who want all the whizbang features can get the larger advanced
cases.

If the modules are directly physically connected, they don't all need their
own batteries/bluetooth/etc, just some common data bus and power interface.
For optimum compatibility, you would want to standardize the module block
form factor.  You could have blocks of various sizes, depending on the
complexity of the module.  for example, maybe a gps unit can fit in a 1x1x1
block size, but maybe a gsm requires a 2x1x1 block size.  Battery might be
4x4x1 or something.  As long as the dimensions are in multiples of the same
units, there is a good chance of fitting all the modules together in your
device.

-Hans Loeblich
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