A group of former Google, Apple, Amazon and HTC employees have banded together and established a company called Nextbit. It is now poised to launch its own mobile phone on Sept. 1. The proposition is that the phone, which will run on Android, will be "friggin' awesome," as it is going to be underpinned by the expertise of the veterans of today's tech giants.
According to Tom Moss, former business development lead at Android and current CEO at Nextbit, the group is doing something different by addressing so-called phone fatigue. The team "hopes to stand out through its staff's intimate knowledge of Android and its HTC-inspired design chops," writes CNET.
Nextbit has claimed to have developed a software tweak that allows its Android version to get better with time. The resulting system is characterized by periodic software enhancements that would supposedly improve performance of mobile devices and give them a capability to adapt to their owners.
There is some information available that could provide clues to Nextbit's mysterious device. The company has been rumored, for instance, to be developing a Handoff-style software that will enable its users to save an app in whatever state it is in and then open it at the same point using another device, The Verge reported. This is supported by claims that Nextbit has perfected an app continuity technology based on virtual storage or cloud computing, according to Engadget.
Moss also hinted that the phone will sport a different design than normal, Android Central reported. This claim sounds valid, as Nextbit's team includes Scott Croyle, HTC's former design boss.
What has been made clear so far by Nextbit's management is that the new phone will have a competitive price, right within the category now called as "affordable premium," where a $300 to $400 price tag could secure consumers high-spec phones. This would place the company at loggerheads with successful mobile phone startups such as Xiaomi and OnePlus. This means that Nextbit would also be heavily borrowing from their business models known for eliminating the middle man and directly engaging with consumers to cut cost.
