Lenovo’s Moto Z is one of the more unique smartphones we’ve ever encountered, featuring a magnetic back for a range of Moto Mod add-ons. These add-ons include a projector, speaker, powerbank and Hasselblad camera attachment.
However, Lenovo held a hackathon in New York City this month, with over 60 people bringing ideas and prototypes to the table.
No ad to show here.
The Chinese manufacturer chose three winning concepts, with the first winner being a “Modio” audio attachment for enthusiasts.
“Using the USB MDK connection, Modio interfaces with a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to provide audio input and output to the smartphone. This concept is hugely beneficial to musicians and audiophiles, giving the Moto Z HiDef audio ports (such as those found in recording studios and expensive speaker systems) that can transmit audio to applicable headphones/speakers in a much higher way than the standard headphone jack,” Lenovo explained in its blog.
The second winning concept was a gamepad, dubbed Sidepad.
“While playing games on smartphones is fun, the best gamepads are ones that are bigger than the mobile device and provide a more immersive experience. As a full-featured gamepad concept, Sidepad seeks to provide this enhanced experience for true gamers by adding gaming controls on the Moto Z.”
The winning Moto Mod teams receive US$5000 in team prize money as well as development kits
The third and final winning concept, called Bella, delivers customised beauty tips for the user.
“This concept allows Moto Z to collect real-time data from your skin and surrounding environment using built in sensors that examine factors such as UV levels, air quality, and if aimed at your face, skin elasticity levels,” Lenovo explained.
So what do the winners walk away with?
“The Grand Prize Winners of both the New York and San Francisco hackathons will receive a team cash prize of US$5000 and a Moto Z and Moto Mods Development Kit per team member,” the manufacturer explained.
“A representative from the winning team will also be invited to Chicago to present their ideas to a panel of Motorola leaders at Motorola’s headquarters and discuss how to bring their idea to market. If the concept impresses Lenovo Capital, they could even receive investment funding.”
