Fonkraft modular smartphone - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Fantasma25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 10:44:10 pm
content: Hello! So I found this modular smartphone at Indiegogo. It sounded cool at first, but once I gave it a second thought, soooo many problems started to come into my mind (I should state that there is not a single technical specification in their page). The first problem I see is the pin count of the CPU and the RAM memory modules. The renders they have show 10 pin "slots" and a module can occupy 1 or more slots. They show a CPU and RAM modules occupying a single slot, meaning that they have exactly 10 pins to provide voltage and communication. How the hell are they going to make an ARM multi-core, multi-GHZ CPU communicate with the rest of the phone with only 10 bloody pins?!! The same goes with the RAM! And that's the first of the problems I see. Another one is that (as I stated before) they explain ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the electronics that are inside the phone (they don't even show a prototype). I sincerely have my doubts if they have an actual EE there. What do you think? Here is the linkhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fonkraft-modular-smartphone/x/10667681#home

author: Bassman59
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 10:50:31 pm
content: Quote from: Fantasma25 on April 30, 2015, 10:44:10 pmAlready funded. People want to believe ...

author: Fantasma25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 11:00:09 pm
content: Quote from: Bassman59 on April 30, 2015, 10:50:31 pmYeah... I noticed (yesterday they were at like 70%) x_x

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 11:17:45 pm
content: Those guys sure know how to use a 3D editor.

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 30, 2015, 11:33:44 pm
content: Reminds me of Project Ara and Modu.The problem is that the life time of the technology, including the common carrier is short.

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 02:03:01 am
content: QuoteHas it been pulled?

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 02:17:35 am
content: Quote from: suicidaleggroll on May 01, 2015, 02:03:01 amSeems that way, I got the same result and it was working a couple of hours ago.

author: Fantasma25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 03:00:55 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on May 01, 2015, 02:17:35 amMaybe their indiegogo campaign ended :/ but here is their websitehttp://fonkraft.com/

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 03:11:59 am
content: google cache shows they still had 42 days to go and it was fully funded in just 3 days.So something is up.

author: Fantasma25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 01, 2015, 03:20:36 am
content: Quote from: miguelvp on May 01, 2015, 03:11:59 amWell... there's a smelly smell here... here are my reasons to suspect1. It's super cheap ($99 USD for a really good phone)2. Their "team" has only 2 members and none of them is an electronics engineer3. They are in the "prototype phase", yet they have no prototype4. They claim that people can develop modules for the phone, yet there are no technical specifications at all5. They rely on 3rd parties to develop the modules6. Their indiegogo campaign suddenly disappeared7. They only show renders and a really crappy 3d printed model with a detachable displayI can go on, but you see my point...

author: Fantasma25
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 10, 2015, 04:26:48 pm
content: Quote from: miguelvp on May 01, 2015, 03:11:59 amWell, well, well... I just looked them up again and apparently Indiegogo shut their campaign down because it was "too risky"... I wonder why? (sarcasm)