Ingram Micro Mobility Helps Launch Google's Project Ara Pilot Program in Puerto Rico

INDIANAPOLIS, IN--(Marketwired - Mar 31, 2015) - With more than 3.4 million tons of e-waste generated in the U.S. alone in 2012¹, the world could use smartphone designs that offer sustainable alternatives. Google's Project Ara, a new modular smartphone platform, is slated to be one such offering. The pilot program for Project Ara launches later this year in Puerto Rico with Ingram Micro Mobility as its logistics provider.

Ingram Micro Mobility will handle Project Ara's forward logistics, including product receipt, print customization of the device's many modules, product assembly and consumer packaging, and delivery of devices to consumers and through additional channels.

"The modularity and versatility of Google's Project Ara will allow users to get exactly what they want from their device, even if that is always changing," said Bashar Nejdawi, executive vice president, Ingram Micro and president, North America, Ingram Micro Mobility. "The technology and customizable module options will continue to meet the consumer's device needs -- preventing the device from a fate of the junk drawer or worse, a landfill. We're excited to help this new category of smartphone take hold in the marketplace."

Project Ara aims to create an open modular smartphone platform. Google's Advanced Technology & Projects (ATAP) group's principal objective is to democratize the mobile hardware ecosystem by lowering barriers to entry, increasing the number of hardware developers and talent pool, and significantly compressing hardware development and new technology insertion time scales. In other words, it will make mobile hardware development more akin to software app development. A good way to think of Ara is as a hardware analog to the Android platform.

According to Ingram Micro Mobility's Recycling Mobile Devices: A Consumer Awareness Study, half of U.S. adults are uncertain about how to properly dispose of used electronic devices. The study also found that data privacy and identity theft were consumers' chief concerns. Project Ara could help reduce those concerns, as well as e-waste, since consumers will keep their phones and modules longer.

Ingram Micro Mobility delivers supply chain, distribution and recovery solutions across all aspects of the mobility device lifecycle, through responsiveness and focused execution. The Mobility business unit helps boost accessibility of connected and mobile devices, wearables, machine-to-machine technologies and accessories in the marketplace by solving customers' complex logistical challenges. Ingram Micro Mobility's device lifecycle services include capabilities such as warehousing, software loading, e-commerce, advanced planning, order management, accounts receivable and credit management, end-user fulfillment, and reverse logistics, including wireless device repair, triaging, refurbishment and recycling services. Visit ingrammicro.com/mobility.

About Ingram Micro Inc.
Ingram Micro (NYSE: IM) helps businesses realize the promise of technology™. It delivers a full spectrum of global technology and supply chain services to businesses around the world. Deep expertise in technology solutions, mobility, cloud, and supply chain solutions enables its business partners to operate efficiently and successfully in the markets they serve. Unrivaled agility, deep market insights and the trust and dependability that come from decades of proven relationships, set Ingram Micro apart and ahead. Discover how Ingram Micro can help you realize the promise of technology. More at ingrammicro.com.

¹ Environmental Protection Agency, "Municipal Solid Waste Generation, Recycling, and Disposal in the United States: Facts and Figures for 2012"