So far, the Indiegogo campaign finalists have dreamed up ideas for Moto Mods ranging from wireless and solar chargers to smart home solutions, walkie-talkies and health monitoring devices. Visit the Moto Mods collection page to learn more and back the concepts -- this is your chance to be an early adopter and support the Moto Mods you want to see come to life.

Looking ahead, in early March, up to 10 grand prize winners will be chosen based on their campaign’s originality, commercial viability, overall use of the Moto Z modular platform and crowdfunding success. Grand prize winners and recent hackathon winners will receive a trip for two to Chicago to present their Moto Mod ideas to our executive development team. While in Chicago, they will receive mentoring and expert guidance from our Moto Mods development team. If they really impress the team, they may even get an investment from Lenovo Capital, which has set aside up to $1 million to help bring the best Moto Mods ideas to market. Investments will be made on terms proposed by Lenovo Capital, and are subject to due diligence and the eligible development team meeting Lenovo Capital's investment criteria.

As we travel the globe, we’re finding no shortage of creative ideas and prototypes for new Moto Mods. At an event we held in India, more than100 developers, engineers, students and partners came together to brainstorm new Moto Mod concepts and discuss how to bring them to life. During two recent developer hackathons -- the Campus Party hackathon in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Mod the Future hackathon in San Francisco, CA (where three teams that had previously participated in our New York hackathon also attended) -- participants built prototypes of their concepts. Here are some of the top ideas:

“Baby Care” – Gabriel Lucas Quispe Delgadillo (Buenos Aires)
Imagine a more restful environment for babies. This new Moto Mod concept provides automatic alerts when conditions aren't ideal for a child. For example, users will see real-time indicators about whether the temperature in the room is too hot, too cold or just right.

“Moto Color” – Emanuel Lorenzo and Santiago Zoberman (Buenos Aires)
A color sensor for the visually impaired, Moto Color will emit a sound indicating whether the color being analyzed is red, blue or green. An alternative option would be for Moto Color to emit a vibration, which would vary in intensity depending on the color.

“Solar-Powered Battery Charger” – Ivan Milutimovac (San Francisco)
This Moto Mod concept allows you to charge your Moto Z in sunlight. As opposed to current battery-charging devices on the market that require cables, this one is wireless and is expected to charge the phone to 100 percent in about 10 hours.

“Simple Syrup” – Tal Golbus (San Francisco)
Monitoring blood glucose on-the-go can be a challenge. This concept tracks your blood sugar reading and was created for diabetics who need to carry large diabetes cases with them.

“ModCoholic” – Adnan Ahmed, Afif Syed, Adil Bukhari and Marzuq Khan (San Francisco)
Created by a group of four high school-aged attendees and winner of the Honorable Mention, the ModCoholic concept is a breathalyzer that detects your alcohol level when you breathe into it. If it detects that you are over the legal limit, ModCoholic automatically asks if you need a taxi.



Coming Soon

The outcome was the creation of some truly amazing new Moto Mods concepts. We saw initial ideas for a video paging Mod, a ‘Smart Cart’ retail shopping Mod and an emergency situation response Mod for consumers. We also heard about an insulin level monitoring concept and a water pollution testing Mod. Encouraging participants’ individuality to shine, these concepts speak to the core principles of Moto Mods -- continued innovation and unlimited possibilities for consumers. This is the future of mobile in an increasingly stagnant industry.

With teams and participants representing five different countries -- from the U.S. and Canada to Brazil, Latvia and Mexico -- the ideas presented at the hackathon were as unique and diverse as the participants themselves.

“It’s really exciting to think that I can take a piece of hardware, put it on my device, swap it out for something else and I don’t need an app to do it,” said participant and second place winner Aaron Franco.

24 Hours of Hacking
All of the wires, soldering irons and microscopes aside, hacking isn’t always so simple, especially when the sky truly is the limit.

The room was electric, yet calm and focused all at the same time. Energy drink cans covered tables and participants took quick power naps whenever they could, as teams of beginners and seasoned veterans alike worked to overcome challenges.

At the end of it all, 96 slices of pizza, 96 bagels and 128 energy drinks were consumed. More than 2,400 total man hours were put in, with 17 projects submitted by the deadline from participants ranging in age from 16 to 78. And after 45 minutes of judging, the top three Moto Mods concepts were announced.

Six months ago, we took a stand against incremental innovation with our Moto Z family of smartphones and Moto Mods™ – and we’ve never looked back. Since announcing our developer program in June, more than 250 companies and developers have started working with our Moto Mod Development Kit. We’ve also received more than 360 submissions worldwide to participate in our collaboration with Indiegogo, which helps developers raise money and provides support to bring their ideas for future Moto Mods to life.

And we’re not stopping there. From new releases available today (see below) to 24-hour hackathons, we’re bringing you even more ways to innovate and customize with Moto.

NEW: Incipio Vehicle Dock

Last month, we told you Android 7.0 Nougat would be making its way to several of our smartphones before the end of the year, including Moto Z. Well, we have some good news...the wait is over!

We’ll begin rolling out Android 7.0 Nougat globally to Moto Z and Moto Z Force this week. You can visit the Moto software upgrades page here for more details, including specific information by country and carrier.

But that’s not all. With the upgrade to Android 7.0 Nougat, Moto Z and Moto Z Force will be compatible with Daydream, Google’s platform for high-quality, mobile VR. These are the first smartphones from another manufacturer to be recognized by Google as Daydream-ready devices - a distinction given to phones that have been certified for the Daydream platform and are built for VR with
 high-resolution displays, ultra-smooth graphics and high-fidelity sensors for precise head tracking.

Daydream offers an unprecedented opportunity to dive into a kaleidoscope of experiences. With Daydream, you can explore new worlds, attend a sporting event or concert, enjoy your own personal cinema and so much more. To get started, you’ll need Google’s VR headset and controller - Daydream View - available at Verizon, Best Buy and the Google Store in the U.S. Check your local stores in other markets.

From the first mobile phone to shatterproof smartphone screens to seamless modularity with Moto Mods that expand what you can do with your smartphone, we continue to challenge the status quo to bring you the best mobile experiences. The possibilities with Moto Z are truly endless, not only with Moto Mods, but now with Daydream, too.