A new smartphone in the US is $600-800 off contract.
In my own experience: that puts it in line with (A) my car which I purchased and titled for $500 last year, and (B) my workstation which cost $1200 without peripherals.
Both my car and workstation are, unsurprisingly, modular systems that can be useful for years or even decades with proper care.
My retired work-station is still in use as a file-server, and that machine is 8 years old. My car is 300,000 miles young without a single major mechanical fault.
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So from where I'm standing: $600 is a rather sizable chunk of change that I'd much rather spend on a system that's _not designed to be disposable._
I can't even find a current-gen smartphone that I'm remotely interested in purchasing. The "smaller and lighter" you speak is not so much _smaller_ but _thinner._
I don't need, or even desire a 1080p screen on my phone; despite being interested in other current gen components like the latest round of cameras.
You can't make the physical package and smaller than the _gigantic displays_ these phones are being equipped with. I would sooner part with $600 for an iPhone 4S-sized "endo skeleton" with current gen "RAM and CPU modules" and a slightly smaller battery. A tradeoff that's possible when you're dealing with modules... but a financial disaster when you're trying to design a mass-market phone to compete with the Android flagships.
>Why would we want X? It's completely useless considering Y.
What's wrong with this? When did the idea of making a cool concept like modular phones accessible to the average consumer become a something negative?
I remember loving to build computers, I don't anymore because I've dropped desktop altogether in favor of portable solutions and a Pi. That however does not mean I wouldn't want to see and support a technology that ultimately would boost portable computing innovation.
I believe many of you simply do not see the potential in this! The whole idea might flop, but if it doesn't, it opens up a lot of possibilities. An Apple iPhone lets you play with software within a very strict sandbox, and Android only offers a slightly larger sandbox. The devices have in common that they are so versatile in their usefulness, and this brought them success; they greatly outperform the older generations. This idea is one idea that might prove another leap in versatility and usefulness, and if it does, it'll disrupt.