Sennheiser recently announced that it was going to dip its considerable audio design and manufacturing clout into the revolution for the first marketable modular phone project, a.k.a. Project ARA. The outfit is globally known for its audio processing technology, and it is now designing one of the first premium sound modules for Project ARA.
The update from the company talks a lot about physical design and the constraints the engineers and developers had to work with in developing said audio module. Sennheiser says it is leaning towards the 1×2 module, which allows for a bit more space than the smaller 1×1 module – while not going too large as the square 2×2 module.
There is also the question of having physical jack inputs on the module itself, and the company is toying around with a jack-less audio module – meaning that the headphone audio output and the microphone input would all have to be wireless. Lastly, the company is also considering audio accessory modules, like additional modular speakers or microphones for better recording. All this is crazy, but now apparently possible because of Project ARA.
Sennheiser’s update is saying that they have already considered the physical design and would probably be going into the coding part of the DSP’s that they want the module to be able to run. We do hope Sennheiser gets the design part of this one right, as audio features continue to be a big deal for mobile users, even from an upcoming modular phone.
SOURCE: PhoneBloks Blog
bring it on. Looking forward to making an ARA my next phone
while (not so) patiently waiting for Lollipop to make its way to my Nexus 5 & 7 as of 4:22pm on 11/18/14
This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping project ARA would make possible. People focus on being able to upgrade your SOC without tossing the phone, and while nice, I think the coolest possibility is in the creation of niche modules. The market doesn’t exist for a full audiophile quality smartphone, but a module can be done by one manufacture without having to create a whole new phone for the more limited audiophile community. I’m not sure my ideal setup will be possible anytime soon (I’d want module space on the front for some nice speakers and some physical gaming controls), but if this works out the niche module market creates the potential to create some awesome devices that would be impossible to envision in the current market.
Hmm, the other article I read on this also suggest that Sennheiser has
contemplated their own MP3 focused endo frame. I don’t know exactly what
it would entail, perhaps some built in audiophile quality sound
processing tech, some headphone jacks added in less constricted form
factors, etc, all the while depending on others to provide the SOC,
screen, etc, helping keep Sennhesier’s cost low. If this is the case and the frames can be produced at a price point similar to that of a module then suddenly my gaming phone becomes a possibility. Someone would only need to build a frame with those built in controls, then consumers could build out the device with their modules of choice, creating a customized gaming phone.
If endo frames can be built in any form factor and with built in capabilities that would be hard to add to a module (likely run using the same module drivers, simply without size constraints) then the customization options become far greater. One company can build a frame that includes a huge built in battery, another, one with a built in pico projector. This concept makes me even more hyped for what I already considered the coolest technology hitting the market any time soon.