So we do what any sensible person would do: hurl our current phone in the nearest estuary and stake out the neighborhood electronics store for days on end until our new prize is finally in our hands. In six months we'll do it all over again, too. But it doesn't have to be this way. Designer Dave Hakkens has come up with an idea that could keep us all on the cutting edge of technology without having to throw out thousands of expensive and (let's be honest) perfectly good smartphones every year.

 

The concept is called Phonebloks, and it's a modular, easily upgradeable smartphone system that could withstand the test of time. Think of a device that's made up of high-tech Lego blocks, each of which lends a specific functionality to the base unit. Replacing broken elements, a cracked screen for example, would be a simple one-minute DIY — as would upgrading old parts. You could also configure your Phoneblok to meet your specific needs, whether that's longer battery life, a faster processor or a massive camera.