Fairphone's 'first real' modular phone goes on sale

If you're frustrated by replacing your phone when the battery gradually starts failing or the screen gets scratched, this device could be for you. The Fairphone 2 is claimed to be the 'world's first real modular phone' and lets handy users build a handset that suits their requirements as well as easily make their own repairs and upgrades. Repairing a screen for example, takes as little as 23 seconds.

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Fairphone's CTO, Olivier Hebert showed MailOnline how easy it is to assemble the handset, and said it is 'built to last as long as possible so you don't have to upgrade each year'.

It's comprised of a number of modules, cover and battery, with the 'bottom module' including the microphone, speaker, vibration mechanism and USB port, for example. Each is labelled inside with symbols, such as a camera and microphone to make it effortless for users to understand which module is which.

The handset is designed to be simple to repair, with spare parts available to buy online, meaning a shattered screen or struggling battery need not be the end of a handset. The handset’s spare parts are cheaper than a lot of spares for more conventional handsets, with a spare battery costing €20 (£15), screen €87 (£67) and camera €35 (£27).

Once superior components become available, such as a better camera, for example, the idea is a certain feature could be upgraded with minimal fuss and cost. The handset has a five-inch HD LCD gorilla glass display with a resolution of 446ppi, an 8MP camera and runs Android Lollipop 5.1.

Inside, there's a Qualcomm quad core processor, 2GB RAM, 32 GB storage and space for 64GB of expandable memory, as well as two SIM slots, making it a good choice for travellers or people who use their own handset for work as well as pleasure. The cover is ruggedised and Mr Hebert said many handsets were dropped in a lab between 4 feet and 6 feet in height and the glass has cracked only once.

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