[soapdog]

half the times people say something is impossible here on HN, what they're actually meaning is "it's not economically viable" or "doesn't make sense from a business perspective". It is not that that modular phone couldn't be built, it is that you couldn't make it in a way that made business sense for Google. There is lot of great tech there which is not used in products because of similar reasons.

[cheaprentalyeti]

Well, they were technically correct... it's technically impossible for google to do this, just like it's technically impossible for them to build an RSS reader... or manufacture a phone in this country instead of China... or (name cancelled google project of your choice)...