Column: Can Motorola revolutionize the smartphone?

Here's a crazy idea.

What if smartphones were fully customizable? Rather than depend on the whims and bottom lines of a manufacturer, consumers were able to pick and choose which features their device would have.

Heavy users with long commutes could have bigger batteries. Shutterbugs could choose a bigger camera.

And every part of the phone would be modular: The screen, the processor, the storage, the GPS, the speaker, basically everything can be hooked up separately and swapped out if one of them should malfunction.

After all, we don't replace our entire car when we get a flat tire, right?

Well, this crazy idea morphed into Phonebloks, a pipe dream concept by Dave Hakkens wherein users can create their own phones with a series of Lego-like parts.

The idea was laid out in a video which debuted in September and went on to garner over 17 million views. Folks were clearly intrigued and soon clamored for the device.

Full story at Minyanville.