Ask HN: I want to build my own Android phone. Where do I start?

18 points·farmerwu··5 comments

I want to build my own phone at home. As a kid, I remember building my own PC from a kit (or going to Fry's). Where do I even start if I want to build a phone? Forget about form factor, it won't be sleek or tiny. Where do I get drivers and silicon? Has anyone seen any good books or manuals on the topic?

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Qualcomm seems to have some nice 3G products that are supposedly compatible with Android. Some drivers are included with Android, but you may need to write some of your own.

But seriously, you don't just walk into Mordor, nor do you just build a phone. Building a basic 2G phone that does only voice and nothing else probably would be doable by a hobbyist, but building modern 3G phone capable of running Android is waaay harder. And a lot more expensive too. I'd be surprised if you can actually get your hands on 3G chips without buying thousands of them.

This is where I would go when I build my own phone. Wrap it in metal with a hinge to mimic a standard flip phone.

http://www.opencellphone.org

http://hbmobile.org/

I believe the Neo FreeRunner can run Android: http://wiki.openmoko.org/wiki/Neo_FreeRunner_GTA02_Hardware

I'd suggest you start with some sort of kit unless you're a real whiz. It's not a small project.

I'd probably start with phone components from Bug Labs: http://www.buglabs.net/products

Maybe start off with some of their modules for a base phone and hang out on their forums for a while.

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