Concept: Cell Phone Made with Blocks

An interesting video was shown to me by a coworker the other day. There’s currently a YouTube video circulating the internet that tries to spread the message of different concepts for technology.

As we all know, technology changes practically every day and some find that it’s hard to keep up with the latest and greatest. At Small Dog, we are well aware that ever-changing technology leads to mass quantities of ewaste, hence why we started our eWaste Recycling Event a few years ago (but that’s not the point of this article).

I’m sure many people have brainstormed an idea kind of like this one before, but this is the first time I’ve seen a nice little video on the concept. In the video, they make a point that usually it’s only one component of the device that fails, rendering it unusable (when, in fact, the rest of the device works fine).

So, what if our mobile cell phones were made out of blocks instead? When one part of it breaks, you can easily replace just that one part. The different blocks that make up the phone attach to a base with various pins that send the electrical signals through the phone. Then, when something breaks — like the screen — you can could easily (and hopefully cheaply) replace the screen or update it to the newest version (like HD). If your phone becomes sluggish, replace the speed block.

The other great feature of this idea is that everything would be customizable. For example, if you do everything in the cloud, perhaps you’d swap your storage for a bigger battery. Or if you love to take pictures, upgrade the camera portion of the phone. This way you can choose the blocks you want and the brands you like.

The video authors show brands like Bose and Philips, which would mean that these companies would have to be on board to start creating a new line of goods specifically for the “block phone.” The phone would work on an open platform and would rely on companies working together to create the best phone out there. So far, it’s just an idea that’s out there, complete with a cute video and narrator with a great British accent.

However, I do see a few issues with this concept. While I love the idea of holding on to an electronic device for years in order to eliminate the amount of ewaste in the world, one of the possible issues is that people love “new” products. We know far too well that people clamor for the next Apple product announcement. Sure they might have just gotten their iPad 4, but as soon as that iPad 5 is announced, they will be coming through our doors to get their hands on one. It might look exactly the same, but perhaps it now comes in gold instead of silver and has Touch ID. (Disclaimer: This is just an example — we have no idea if there is even an iPad 5 coming out!)

The idea still seems young. They would need to get a lot of people on board from major companies to make the vision come to life…and there’s still one thing that stands in their way: Apple. There are a whole lot of Apple lovers out there (as well as some Apple haters) and sadly, I think that the only way people might get on board with this concept is if Apple was the one to do it. However, it might not be totally out of the picture. Apple is a very environmentally conscious company, that they are constantly trying to find ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

Overall, I think this might be a step in the right direction. What do you think? Is this something that you would buy? Email me your thoughts!