Google announces 100 beta testers for its first Project Ara device

Back at Google I/O, Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects team showed off the first booting prototype Project Ara device and teased that the first units would be available to developers later this year. Today, Google announced that 100 members of its Ara Scouts program will soon be the recipients of the first Project Ara devices. In a post announcing the closure of the Ara Scouts program, Google said that the lucky 100 people were chosen based on how often they participated in the Scouts program.

Since October 2013, over 90,000 have signed up to make Project Ara a reality. Your passion and creativity were — and are — instrumental in turning an idea into a product. As promised, the 100 most active Ara scouts will be among the first to receive a phone — gratis. We couldn’t have done it without you!

It’s unclear exactly when the Ara Scouts will receive their Project Ara devices, but Google is currently aiming for a consumer launch sometime in 2015. In today’s post, Google says that the ATAP team’s focus over the next 8 months will be on turning Ara into a viable and realistic product, so we imagine that the 100 testers will get their devices sometime within that window.

You can view the winners of the first 100 Project Ara devices in the announcement post here.

(via GigaOM)