Nextbit’s Robin Smartphone Can Now Be Pre-Ordered

Robin, the smartphone from Nextbit, can now be preordered by way of BackerKit. For those not yet familiar with Nextbit’s Robin handset, it is a smartphone that is distinctly cloud based. The smartphone was first launched a month ago by Nextbit via a Kickstarter campaign. Just before the closing date of the project, its campaign has already managed to raise over $1.3 million in crowd funding. For those who missed their chance of helping in the funding of this project -- no worries. Soon, they will get a chance of owning the mobile device themselves.

To give a bit of a background, Nextbit’s Robin smartphone is essentially an Android powered mobile device that specifically designed to have cloud storing capabilities. This means that any mobile app or image that a user has not accessed in a while is automatically saved in the cloud as long as the Robin handset is connected to a power source, and is connected to a Wi-Fi network. 

Officially, the Robin device features a cloud storage capacity of 100 gigabytes. But the smartphone actually has its own onboard storage space, able to store 32 gigabytes. On top of all these, the Robin smartphone is also equipped with the ability to determine which kind of storage space is required, as opposed to that which is not needed.

Because of its twin storage approach to saving data, the Robin device can easily organize information, which can definitely come in handy when the handset’s offline storage starts to become full. Robin can quickly make room for more storage space by shifting mobile apps or media content that are seldom accessed into a cloud storage space, specifically one that can be easily accessed by the user anytime he likes. When a user taps on a cloud stored mobile app, the app re-downloads and re-installs from the Nextbit cloud, and even re-syncs with the personal information saved natively on Robin.

Robin’s design and capabilities certainly offer a few advantages to mobile users. Limited storage has always been a problem for some, especially those who like to take lots of pictures or download lots of mobile apps. Having a micro SD card can help, but the problem is, you often can not retrieve information you removed that easily, compared to a setup that gives you access to information you stored and conveniently retrievable from the cloud.

As mentioned earlier, the Robin smartphone can be preordered for $399, and is now made available in Mint or Midnight color options. Shipping is expected to start by the first quarter of next year.