Today Google kicked off its Project Ara Developers Conference, and unsurprisingly, some new information on the modular smartphone effort has been revealed at the event.

According to CNET, Google announced today that it hopes to make Project Ara’s “gray phone” shell available to the public in January 2015. The company previously said that it was aiming for a Q1 2015 release. This gray phone, which is expected to include a frame, screen and Wi-Fi radio, will set buyers back approximately $50.

We’ve known about Project Ara since October 2013 when it was first announced by Motorola. There wasn’t much said about the effort for a while after its debut, but many more details have come to light in recent months as the project continues to progress.

Project Ara is definitely intriguing because it will allow consumers to customize their smartphone to fit their needs with different screens, cameras, batteries and other parts, something that we’ve yet to see in the mobile world. Of course, that sounds great to us wireless nerds, but we’ll have to wait and see how regular consumers react to the devices.

What do you think of Project Ara so far? Are you considering buying a unit when Ara goes public next year?

Via CNET