Following its announcement in October 2013, announcements relating to Project Ara seem to come out every few months or so. Today we got another update on the project’s progress and the upcoming Project Ara Module Developer Conferences.
First up, Phonebloks has posted a video that gives us a tour of NK Labs in Boston, where engineers are working on Project Ara prototypes. We’re treating to a demo of a prototype Ara unit with an LED module, battery, processor, loudspeakers and USB charging port. The device boots to Android and we’re given a quick peek at its home screen and app drawer. The video ends with the tease that the Spiral Prototype 2 Ara unit will be shown at upcoming developer conferences.
Speaking of developer conferences, Google has also spilled the details on its upcoming Project Ara Module Developers Conferences. Both will be day-long events in which interested developers can learn more about Ara and the Ara Module Developers Kit (MDK) version 0.20. Google will also show off the newest Ara prototype.
The first Project Ara Module Developers Conference will be held on January 14, 2015 in Mountain View, Calif. Satellite locations will be in New York City, Buenos Aires and London. The second conference — with the same agenda as the first — will go down on January 21, 2015 in Singapore, with satellite events scheduled to take place in Bangalore, Taipei and Shanghai.
Finally, Google has posted a FAQ for Project Ara in an effort to answer some frequently asked questions regarding the project. Google says that while Ara will run Android, it is a “development effort” and not an official Android or Nexus device. Project Ara is currently expected to launch in a “limited market pilot” in 2015, and while pricing is yet to be determined, Google is aiming for a basic Ara device to cost between $50 and $100.
Via Phonebloks, +GoogleATAP, Project Ara
