Modu

The Sydney Morning Herald reports: [edited]

An Israeli startup has convinced mobile carriers in three countries to try a new concept: a tiny mobile phone that pops into interchangeable "jackets" to become a bigger, smarter phone - or into other gadgets to connect them to the internet.

The company, Modu, announced on Thursday that it will launch the phone, also called Modu, on October 1 with Telecom Italia SpA in Italy, OAA Vimpel Communications in Russia and Cellcom Israel Ltd.

Telecom Italia Mobile and Cellcom are the largest carriers in their respective countries, while VimpelCom is the second-largest in Russia.

The Modu is slightly smaller than the current iPod Nano and weighs 43 grams. It has a small colour screen and a limited keypad, which allows it to work as a rudimentary mobile phone on its own.

The jackets that will come with the Modu look like mobile phones, with standard numeric keypads and other features like cameras. But they lack they lack the antenna and chips that communicate with a wireless network, and this is where the Modu comes in - it pops into a slot, turning the jacket into a fully functional phone.

Modu founder Dov Moran said in an interview that the Italian carrier is excited about the concept because it can make mobile phones more like fashion, tempting consumer to update their looks every few months.

Moran also founded M-Systems, which pioneered USB flash drives. The company was acquired by California-based SanDisk in 2006 for $1.6 billion.
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