A few years back, Modu was considered a hot Israeli company. Headed by Dov Moran (pictured), the company created what it called the world&'s lightest phone and made modular designs that could change the phone&'s functions by replacing its outer shell, or jacket.
If there&'s a lesson here, it&'s probably that there are consequences to being ahead of your time. But the idea may not be dead forever. If someone picks it up and executes it when the technology is ready and the cost is lower, it could very well work.
The plan was for Modu to mix and match modules, or Modu jackets, to create phones with different features. You could, for instance, use modules to create a music player, a phone, or a navigation device. But now that plan is in big trouble. Modu is likely to shut down, according to Israeli news site Ynet. Employees have filed requests with Israeli courts to recover back pay that they are allegedly owed.
In November, the press reported that the Kfar-Saba, Israel-based company had canceled its initial public offering and had begun laying off most of its staff. A skeleton crew will remain in place to sell off inventory. Modu reportedly owes $21 million to the Israel Discount Bank in addition to the money owned to employees.
Founded in 2007, Modu announced its tiny cell phone and jackets in 2008. Back in 2009, Modu looked promising as it targeted $100 million in revenues. The company announced two phones, the Modu T phone and the Modu W phone, which was Wi-Fi only. I recall that the phones Modu showed me &8212' very early production prototypes &8212' were among the ugliest I had ever seen. But as you can see, Modu eventually got the hang of creating cool-looking phones.
The company could close its doors by February.
Previous Story: 2010: the year in internet stats
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: Modu
People: Dov Moran
Companies: Modu
People: Dov Moran
Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments