Fairphone 2 is here. After having sold 60.000 Fairphones of the first edition, Fairphone, the company started by Dutch designer and WDCD speaker Bas van Abel, presented the second edition yesterday. The Fairphone 2 is designed to last even longer that the first one, thanks to a modular architecture for easy dis- and reassembly and an integrated protective case. With an estimated sales price of 525 euros the FP2 is also more expensive then the first edition.
Apart from being produced as fairly and sustainable as possible, without for instance the use of conflict metals, the FP2 is designed for longevity. Because the longer a product lasts, the more sustainable it will be. For a start the new phone has a replaceable outer shell, which acts as a protective case. A rubber rim wraps around the edge of the glass, protecting the phone against accidental drops.
The modular architecture of the inside enables owners to easy repair or replace individual elements of the electronics and also to upgrade the phones with new or improved elements. Pre-sales of the FP2 will start this summer.
Meanwhile other developments show that modular is the current trend in mobile technology. Not only is Phoneblocks, the organisation started by Dutch designer Dave Hakkens to encourage the production of modular electronic devices, one of the finalists for the INDEX: Award 2015. Phoneblocks’ blog has reported in the last few weeks about one new modular phone after the other.
Google recently presented a new prototype of the modular Ara phone, a project developed in close cooperation with Phoneblocks. Last month the Austrian company Fonkraft also launched a modular concept, while Nexpaq ran a successful Kickstarter campaign for its modular smart phone case to add all kinds of modules to iPhone and Samsung phones. MODR has a comparable offer, while Blocks Wearables presented a modular smartwatch.
It seems as if Phoneblocks is well under way to achieve its aims.