#chooseblocks

[futureproof2015-care]

A modular smartwatch that's so customizable, you might call it #futureproof: https://t.co/MjgfvFN9ah http://pic.twitter.com/rgcsZ0Oxb5

— Kickstarter (@kickstarter) November 9, 2015

[phonebloks]

Great news from Blocks Wearables

by Giulio Minotti, Phonebloks

At Computex Taipei 2015, Pankaj Kedia, the head of Wearables at Qualcomm, revealed a collaboration with Blocks Wearables. Qualcomm is the world’s leading microprocessor provider in the smartphone and wearables market today. 

The modular smartwatch will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor (quad-core ARM Cortex  A7 CPUs) and will run the latest Android Lollipop OS. Blocks will be released in a crowdfunding campaign later this summer. 

The first Blocks watch face will use a circular colour touchscreen,  this “core module” will include processor, Bluetooth, WiFi, motion sensor, microphone and the main battery. The core module will perform most functions of current smartwatches, such as notifications, activity tracking and voice commands. The circular face will be available during the crowdfunding campaign, whereas other two screens will be available soon after shipping. 

The modular architecture will allow to extend smartwatch functionality with a variety of hot swappable modules that can support location tracking, cellular connectivity, contactless payments and other sensors. 

“The wearables market is in an incredibly exciting phase and will see a diverse range of forms and functionalities. Their one commonality is that all will require ultra-low power intelligence to ensure battery life is attractive to end users. Blocks’ modular approach is a great example of the creativity and innovation that is possible on the ARM architecture.” said Ian Ferguson, vice president, segment marketing, ARM. 

Blocks will run a special version of Android Lollipop OS and it will compatible to both iOS and Android smartphones. Thanks to these optimizations, Blocks will have a longer battery life, a custom graphic for the circular display and the ability to hot-swap modules without having to power the device off. 

Thanks to the partnership with Tateossian, a British jewellery and accessories brand, Blocks will have customisable removable shells for each module, allowing a mix of different colours, textures and materials. 

Blocks has, also, signed a manufacturing deal with Compal, one the world’s largest manufacturers of laptops, smartphones and smartwatches.

[phonebloks]

An Update on Blocks

By: Hakeem Javaid, Blocks

BLOCKS, the modular smartwatch, showcased alongside Intel at this year's CES event, the biggest tech show in the world! I cannot express the many gasps of realisation we heard as tech enthusiasts grasped the awesome possibilities of modular technology. Oh, and the big companies that came by? Well, let's just say there are some big names in the tech world interested in building BLOCKS...WOOP!

However, the best meeting we had actually took place the following week at the world-famous Googleplex; Google's HQ in California. We sat down with Paul & Anil from the Project Ara team, excited to talk modularity! It was awesome meeting the team building the modular smartphone. What really got me was Paul's interest at possible cross-compatibility of modules between their modular phone and our modular watch! This is definitely something we're going to be looking into...these two devices would make a perfect match. As soon as Anil passed me the Ara prototype, I just had to take a photo of it alongside the BLOCKS prototype!

Currently, our team is putting a lot work behind the connectors between the BLOCKS, focussing on making it stronger, waterproof, and a lot more durable. We're still aiming for a Kickstarter to take place in June/July this year, and there'll likely be some collaboration between BLOCKS and Project Ara going forward, so keep an eye on updates from our awesome supporting partner, Phonebloks!

[phonebloks]

BLOCKS A MODULAR SMARTWATCH

By Hakeem Javaid, Blocks

Desktops. Laptops. Smartphones. Tablets. What next? Well, I think we can agree Apple confirmed it a few weeks ago. Smartwatches.

Earlier this year we had predicted just that. Smartwatches would be the next big thing in tech. We wanted to build one, but there was a problem; we couldn’t decide on what sensors to include. Should we focus on gesture control? Health sensors? A mix of both? But then it hit us. Why not let the user decide?

We all remember watching Dave’s video last year introducing the world to an amazing concept: a modular smartphone! It made perfect sense; why buy a whole new device every year just because only one part becomes outdated!? Modularity was the perfect answer. Now imagine Phonebloks applied to wearables. Blocks which you snap together to create a personal, unique smartwatch. Blocks. Yep, Dave had even inspired our name!

Wearable devices are very personal devices, so naturally being able to customise yours would be amazing, as you could make it unique to your own lifestyle! Also, because smartwatch technology is so new, there are new versions of products being released every few months, so the sustainability angle that modularity brings would also be a huge plus After months of research, we finally managed to prove our modular concept in one weekend. Not a normal weekend due to the extreme lack of sleep, but time well spent on proving it worked. We had built simple display, processor, motion sensor and temperature sensor blocks, and we could connect them in any combination we liked!

Sustainability and customisation. Both huge reasons to go for a modular device, but modularity brings an even bigger plus to devices: an open platform. A blockstore, just like an appstore, where any company or individual could build blocks with awesome tech we can’t even imagine! That’s where the big vision of blocks lies. We are not creating the perfect device, we’re making it possible for you to create the perfect device.On top of that, we’ve ended up taking modularity a step further. Why? Because wearables are not just devices, but are also fashion pieces. As a result, our modules, are now modular. Yep, modular modules! What does that mean? Well, each block now has removable covers, meaning the look of your device is now also customisable! And don’t forget, that also means we can set up an open design store.

Open software. Open hardware. Open design. We’re setting an unbeatable whole new level of open-source technology. We are already in talks with a few big companies to build a fitness block, a contactless payment block, and even a sim card block! And we are slowly gaining more interest by the day...

Want to hear some awesome news?

Over the past 8 months we’ve been working non-stop on our next prototype, and we decided to take part in Intel’s Make It Wearable challenge. Out of 400+ applicants, we ended up as one of the top 10 finalists. Not only did that bring us $50,000 funding from Intel, but also provided us with with their latest processors!

So, what’s next in our plan?

Having gone very far with the hardware and design of Blocks, we’re now focussing more on the software side. We're currently aiming to base our OS on Samsung & Intel's Tizen OS, and are working towards supporting Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Our team, originally 4, has now expanded to 16 extremely passionate developers and designers...and still growing!

I personally spent the past week putting together an epic promo video for Blocks, focussed entirely on sharing how awesome modularity truly is. Be sure to check it out!

We are excited to be working alongside Phonebloks. Dave’s vision will always be at the core of Blocks, and we are looking forward to helping create an innovative, limitless, modular future!

[taskupuhelu]

Blocks, rakenna oma älykellosi.

Blocks antaa sinulle mahdollisuuden valita älykelloosi vain osia joita tunnet tarvitsevasi, ja voit päivittää älykelloasi koska tahansa uusilla osilla. Osat yhdistyvät toisiinsa kätevästi 3.5mm plugeilla, ja täten niitä on helppo vaihtaa. 

Blocks projekti on vapaa ja kuka tahansa voi kehittää sen ohjelmistoa ja jopa tehdä omia osiaan kelloon.

Mikäli kyseinen kello alkoi kiinnostaa, kannattaa käydä kirjautumassa Blocks:n sähköpostilistalle ja varata omansa heti 14. päivä niin saat tuotteen ensimmäisten joukossa ja erikoishintaan. Enää 6 päivää julkaisuun.

Lähde: Blocks