Phonebloks: The smartphone for the rest of your life

London, England (CNN) -- What if you could buy a smartphone that would last you for the 

rest of your life?

This is the dream of Dutch designer Dave Hakkens, whose 'Phonebloks' concept has 

captured the public imagination and received celebrity endorsement from the most unexpected quarters.

Phonebloks is a radical cell phone idea that aims to dramatically reduce global electronic waste 

('e-waste') by offering users the opportunity to upgrade parts -- or bloks -- of their cell phone 

rather than having to replace the entire device. 

Hakkens says that he came up with Phonebloks as a response to the accelerating pace of technological waste: "I don't like the direction electronics are heading. They get more 

disposable and get a shorter life with every model. This gives a lot of e-waste." 

The environmental campaign organisation Greenpeace estimates that global e-waste now 

amounts to between 20 and 50 million tons a year. Put into perspective, they say that quantity 

of waste, loaded onto container trains, would stretch all the way around the world.

Speaking at the CleanUp 2013 conference in Melbourne Australia, Professor Ming Wong, 

director of the Croucher Institute for Environmental Sciences at Hong Kong Baptist University, described the growing problem of e-waste as a "timebomb."

"[It] is the world's fastest growing waste stream, rising by 3 to 5% every year," said Wong.

The Phonebloks concept aims to decrease e-waste by offering consumers the opportunity to 

replace individual components of their phone, while retaining the device's basic frame.

Once constructed, Hakkens hopes that the Phonebloks handset will be built from components 

that can be 'clicked' together like Legos. Each component will have its own function 

e.g. Bluetooth, WiFi, battery, or camera. When a component stops working or needs to be 

upgraded, it can be quickly replaced with a new 'blok'.

In theory, Hakkens believes that choosing separate components could enable users to 

personalize their cell phone to their own specifications, adding an improved camera, increased storage or a larger battery.

Phonebloks will be composed of modular pieces or 'bloks' which click together like Lego

"The idea is to set up a platform which, if used correctly, can reduce the amount of waste significantly," Hakkens says.

At present, Phonebloks is still a long way from reaching the market -- indeed its inventor hasn't even asked for any money   to begin developing it. 

                                                                                                                                          For now, Hakkers has simply been gathering support for the concept through the "crowd-speaking" platform Thunderclap.

At the time of writing, the Phonebloks concept video has       received more than 12 million views on YouTube and been     shared on social networks more than 650,000 times. The         project has also received support from the actor Elijah Wood       and television correspondent Jessica Northey.

The Phonebloks concept is not without its critics. Some argue       that making a device that can more easily be upgraded will   increase e-waste rather than reducing it. Others suggest that it would beimpossible to build a functional smartphone in a       modular way.

Hakkens says that at the very least his campaign has shown        that there is an appetite for an environmentally friendly cell     phone and that even though the concept was only officially launched a week ago "we are already having conversations         with some serious players."

Tom Dowdall, a Climate and Energy spokesperson for   Greenpeace, says that the interest in Phonebloks may be        useful in underlining the growing prooblem of e-waste:           "Hopefully the popularity of the Phonebloks concept will spark     more action from the major manufacturers. It should not be     beyond the innovative phone companies to make products           that are upgradable and designed to last."

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, says he suspects Phonebloks will not make it to market

Martin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, told CNN that while the      Phonebloks concept is 'well-meaning'           he suspects it will never become a       reality: "the main reason that the     Phoneblok will not hit the market is it          will cost more, be bigger and heavier,      and be less reliable ... By the time it      could be brought to market, the         problem that engendered it will be gone."

Andy Redfern, co-founder of the 'ethically-conscious                 online retailer' Ethical Superstoresays he thinks Phonebloks is       an excellent concept, but agrees with Cooper that it will be      difficult  to produce:

"Phonebloks seems such an obvious idea that it makes you   wonder why no one has ever taken this approach before ...  However it faces two significant challenges - one technical and   one cultural," Redfern says.

"To reduce cost and increase battery life as much of the phone functionality as possible is crammed on to a single piece of      silicon ... So the technical challenge is meeting the current     battery life and size requirements if we are going to benefit         from easy upgrades.

"And culturally? Well we want the lightest phone with longest   battery life. The Phoneblok is likely to have to compromise on      that and we will have to change our expectations and our    thinking."

"However," Redfern says "creating a phone that feeds our     appetite for upgrades without having to throw away the whole  phone would seem to make great sense."