0Modu
T
Announced
10 October 2010
Weight
55 grams
Features
The Modu T was developed by Israeli company Modu in conjunction with Indian phone maker Micromax. It was the successor to the Modu 1 phone - arguably the first truly modular mobile phone in the world. Previous efforts with modular devices had been pioneered by Nokia with its interchangeable Xpress-On covers on the Nokia 5110 and Sendo which created modular phones in 2001 (S200 and J530) that made it possible to change the size, shape, keypad design and software of its phones. Modu was unique for having modules that changed and enhanced the functionality of its devices.
Ahead of its launch, there were widespread expectations the Modu T would be an Android-powered smartphone. In fact, it was powered by Qualcomm’s Brew OS with a customised touch-based user interface. It was also notable for being recognised by the Guinness World Records as being the lightest touch screen phone in the world when it was launched.
Modu T promotional picture
Like its predecessor, the Modu T had various "jackets", known as “fy” devices (see below - clockwise from top left), that gave the phone difference capabilities. These included the the “boostify” which provided a speakerphone capability, the “camerafy” which provided a five-megapixel camera, the “textify” jacket that added a qwerty keyboard and the “sportify” jacket that added fitness tracking.
Modu Fy Devices
The phone featured a 2.2-inch touch screen and also had a stereo FM radio which could be used with the built-in digital recorder so users could record content from their favourite radio stations. It also included a wide variety of applications such as Facebook, Flickr, Google Search, Twitter and YouTube.
Modu had an interesting journey as a company. It was established in 2007 by Dov Moran who was the inventor of the USB Flash Drive and other flash data storage devices (the USB standard was invented by Intel’s Ajay Bhatt). The company started developing mobile phones and it eventually grew to over 130 employees. However, it ran into difficulties after the launch of the Modu T having failed to secure additional funding. The employee count dropped to 30 people and the company's finances faltered. The business eventually closed and sold key patents to Google in May 2011 for US$4.9m. These were believed to be patents required for Google’s efforts with Project Ara – its modular smartphone project.
Numerous product images and pictures of the Modu T launch event can be found here.
Modu T promotional picture
Like its predecessor, the Modu T had various "jackets", known as “fy” devices (see below - clockwise from top left), that gave the phone difference capabilities. These included the the “boostify” which provided a speakerphone capability, the “camerafy” which provided a five-megapixel camera, the “textify” jacket that added a qwerty keyboard and the “sportify” jacket that added fitness tracking.
Modu Fy Devices
The phone featured a 2.2-inch touch screen and also had a stereo FM radio which could be used with the built-in digital recorder so users could record content from their favourite radio stations. It also included a wide variety of applications such as Facebook, Flickr, Google Search, Twitter and YouTube.
Modu had an interesting journey as a company. It was established in 2007 by Dov Moran who was the inventor of the USB Flash Drive and other flash data storage devices (the USB standard was invented by Intel’s Ajay Bhatt). The company started developing mobile phones and it eventually grew to over 130 employees. However, it ran into difficulties after the launch of the Modu T having failed to secure additional funding. The employee count dropped to 30 people and the company's finances faltered. The business eventually closed and sold key patents to Google in May 2011 for US$4.9m. These were believed to be patents required for Google’s efforts with Project Ara – its modular smartphone project.
Numerous product images and pictures of the Modu T launch event can be found here. Documentation
