This Build-Your-Own Smartphone is a Genius Way to Learn Coding

‘Coding is the future’ is maybe a cliché one hears every now and then, but the more digitisation and the internet develops, the more it seems like that’s the stark reality rather than a cliché.

Learning to code can be a daunting task, though, so whenever something comes along that makes it fun and accessible, it’s worth looking at. In this case, 20-year-old developer and programmer Albert Gajšak came up with a product that will not only teach basis coding, but also hardware basics, and he did it by making a DIY build-it-yourself mobile phone.

So when one buys the product, the phone is delivered disassembled and with the following parts: a circuit board, a GSM module, a screen, dual-core processor, antenna unit, and a sound module with a 3.5mm jack. Once you’ve got the phone assembled, it will be functional and you can even code some additional features yourself.

The same developer launched a similar product that let’s you build your own 8-bit gaming console – giving a similarly educational overview of assembling hardware and a soft introduction into coding and the software side.

The project was backed by a Kickstarter campaign, which managed to accumulate over $300,000 (way over the $15,000 goal), making it an incredibly popular and successful project. You can pre-order your own MAKERphone here.