Modu, the heavily-funded Israel-based modular phone manufacturer that enables you to slip a light mobile device into a variety of so-called “jackets” (think music players, other cellphones, car stereos, digital cameras, etc.), is prepping its big commercial launch for this year by unveiling its family of phones at the upcoming Mobile World Congress. The actual sales for the device will start at the beginning of next quarter.
Modu started teasing everyone in January last year, and revealed what it had in store a month after. Crunchgear’s John Biggs dubbed it cool but flawed, but this was all way before the company ever had something to show for its promises and – meanwhile – over $85 million in venture capital funding. Well, now they do.
At the heart of the Modu ecosystem is a small modular mobile phone (the lightest one available according to the Guiness Book of World Records) that comes with complete mobile functionality but also doubles as both a music player and a mass storage device (2 GB). The modu phone boasts a seven-key keypad to perform basic functions even without a jacket, but it’s really the jackets that make the product unique.
Straight from the press release, the freshly unveiled Modu jacket line-up includes:
- Night jacket: inspired by the nightlife scene, this jacket includes futuristic styling with an edgy keypad, flashing lights, night mode imaging and a unique graphical user interface
- Street-art jacket: capturing the expressive and vibrant street art scene, this jacket fea tures stereo speak ers and dedicated music keys for a powerful music experience
- Classic jacket: designed to fit the everyday needs of a modern lifestyle, this jacket carries all essential mobile communication features with an air of elegance and fine taste
- Express jacket: this jacket transforms the modu phone and user interface with a rain bow of fun, playful flavors
Pictures:
More jackets will be announced in the course of this year.
The jury is still out if Modu is onto something here, but it’s refreshing to see a company in the mobile industry risk such a bold move and truly try to innovate the space. I’m curious to find out what else they’ll announce at the Mobile World Congress; they’re promising more news on “global distribution of the Modu phone and jackets, with a significant initial order; partnership agreements; new product news; and manufacturing and production capabilities”.
Modu was founded in 2007 by Dov Moran, the inventor of the USB Flash Drive (he was the founder, Chairman and CEO of M-systems, acquired by SanDisk Corp for $1.6B at the end of 2006), and you can hear him explain the product in the interview embedded below.
Wow, this looks like a phone design that for the movies. Think like minority report, Will smith’s sci-fi, etc.
Should definitely change the boring Apple look. Oooppss..
I think these guys need to do some focus groups. Will a consumer in this economic climate really buy these frivolous items? Especially if they do not come with a carrier subsidy?
I doubt it.
This company is not doing anything that Samsung, LG or Nokia couldn’t easily do if they wanted.
Anjali Sen
I love Modu flexibility . I hope Modu will survive and will be sold in Malaysia.
congratulations…you are the only one aside from the investors and employees.
I went to the same school that Dov Moran used to go to (I graduated last year, he did 15+ years ago). I had one teacher which also taught him. She said that he was a pretty smart guy. I believe her.
But Modu is going to fail. I dont see anything new here, I dont see anything innovative here, I dont see anything in Modu that cant be done already for a very small price. Why the hell would someone buy 5 new phones just because they have different colors? Why cant someone use the web to sync between phones? How is 2gigs “mass storage”? 2 gigs is nothing. Why would someone buy a new mp3 player, a new gps, a new phone just so that they can use this?
-quilby & gmail # com
I agree with the initial verdict of Cool, but flawed.
Can’t think why I should prefer this Modu phone (with or without Jacket) to any of Sony Ericsson, iPhone, HTC or Android smartphones.
$85 Million could finance about two round of 10 Start-Ups with more innovation and a solid business case.
case closed.
Deadpool in 10 months.
This is so uncool and useless offering. These guys are thinking about everyone but the end user.
DOH! This is uncool and flawed. No slide out keyboard, no multi-touch, no 12MP camera, …
Who’s gonna buy this phone?
$85M wasted on making plastic covers for an otherwise basic phone!!!
In response to some of the comments, and regardless of whether the investors ever see a return from modu…. there is another issue here:
There have been millions of man-hours and billions of dollars spent (wasted) on products that never saw the light of day, or never amounted to their hype.
But, like the Segway, the combustion engine, olpc, and the mouse… those dumb innovations can eventually lend their technology to various other niches, various other sectors, various other industries, and various other applications.
Also, when something “different” approaches a market with high barriers to entry… it may not rattle the competition, but it certainly gets them thinking about future concepts in a different way.
See: iPhone.
This, in my opinion, is one of those technologies.
I don’t believe the consumer is the right target for this technology – not now – but I could see this as being a big hit in areas like field workforce, digital deployment, and emerging nations.
Wow, this looks like a amazing phone.
These jackets look like an attempt to the test the waters. Its unlikely that they seriously believe this is going to make an impact.
When they come out with a jacket which is a car headunit which consumes a modu to play internet radio or videos then i will gladly queue up and buy one.
modu is Gimmicky, in fact, it’s just so gimmicky, it just might work…
Forget the usablity side of it, today it’s all about fashion and flashing. There will be much more than enough fans out there that will want to be the 1st to get their hands on modu that it will catch on like wildfire…
Congrats Dov and the modu team, do your thing!
http://www.hypi...&p=636#p636
Its totally a pre-iPhone company that takes forever to get to market and still have a long way to go, and it seem like “smart” VC money is going down the drain, again.
My dream approaches: the SIM grows to the size of a business card and sprouts 7 buttons allowing independent performance. At the gym or working outdoors, it can be carried in an arm band. For work, I slip it into my AT&T Tilt sleeve. During kick-back time it powers a music player or 5″ TV display now that cellular TV prices have dropped. But the best part is inserting it in my netbook to be used as a modem. Voice calls then go through the netbook to the Bluetooth head piece. I love the naysayers; they reduce competition for we developers.
I’m pretty sure Philips had a similar concept back in the early 1990s. This would have been cool if it been released in 2003. In 2009/10? I doubt it’ll even get to see the light of day.
Deadpool.
agree with deadpool.
I’m thinking:
home security & automation
kids with phones that won’t get stolen
very old people who can’t use phones
Satellite TV VOD
car radio phones
developing countries
wearable
disposable
You bunch are pathetic. Go back to twittering drivel, where’s your imagination?
I find Modu very interesting. There is surely a big market for it. But i don´t quite understand why ModuMobile described it as a modular mobile phone – it is not.
When I read the article, I taught Modu was something like Dell for mobile phones (create your own mobile phone by choosing devices) – obviously it is quite something different.
I would rather try out the new android then most all phones that were listed.. i think it probably has more potential in the long run
The thing is people have and will pay for this. Take for example Helio. If you had two or three Helio phones you could log on and switch between them. Lets say you have a bulky QWERTY phone for work, a slim shuffle-like mp3 player for the gym afterwards and a sleek and shiny red phone for going out for drinks later. This phone very well could be the future. I see it really taking on in Japan.
Well…this idea has some potential but we’ll have to see the price.
no one is going to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars to have different jackets.
Another question is, where is the processor? in the jacket or in the main device (modu)? if it’s in the modu then how long before it becomes outdated and has insufficient computational power? but if the processor is in the jacket, the jacket will become too expensive.
I would like to see this kind of idea applied to laptops or desktops, where you could literally pull out the processor, harddrive and memory in a neat portable little unit which is then pluggable in different devices.
its like all innovation,,you have to hold it yourself,,,,listen to other people who have been using it….and then presto! you realise great..how did I manage before..( or maybe not…) but we need to hear some real life experience…..