Nextbit phone will "easily stand out" and be priced affordably

It was odd to hear that Nextbit is working on releasing its first smartphone. The San Francisco startup is known for its cloud-based continuity services for Android – how did they go from making apps to designing smartphones? Regardless of what the answer to that question may be, now we know they are definitely planning this well.

Design

Nextbit CEO Tom Moss took it to Hong Kong’s RISE conference to talk more about this mysterious phone his team is working on. He begins by mentioning this will look like no usual handset. Moss states the device will “easily stand out” from the ever-growing crowd of cookie-cutter devices.

And we don’t doubt the phone will look great – the company currently counts former HTCchief of design Scott Croyle as one of its main employees. This was the same man leading the design implementations that made the HTCOne series so gorgeous.

Software

While Nextbit is keeping things a bit quiet on this end, CEO Tom Moss happens to be in the founding members board of Cyanogen. This makes it very likely that the phone will run the most popular third-party Android ROM in the world, but that is something we can’t be quoted on just yet.

What we can tell you is that the company is focusing on cloud features to improve some common pains that come with using a typical smartphone. That’s about all Moss would say, but their current services will likely play a big part on the handset’s software improvements.

Low prices!

What makes a good phone great is its price. This is why companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi have become so amazingly popular; the value they offer is too much to compete with. How will pricing look like for Nextbit’s phone?

Tom took some time to express his dissatisfaction with current mainstream smartphone prices, such as those attached to Apple, LG, HTC and Samsung handsets. The new trend is to price premium mobile devices at $300-$400 off contract, and that is a range Nextbit is looking to stick to, following the footsteps of companies like OnePlus and Xiaomi.

Like the Chinese companies, Nextbit aims to reduce prices on marketing, have a higher involvement with the public, and transfer all savings to its customers, effectively achieving lower prices on premium products.

Wrapping up

I must say I was a bit wary of Nextbit’s plans at first, but knowing we will have a Xiaomi-like company in America really has me wanting to believe. We still know very little about this upcoming smartphone, but more details will come with time. And you can be sure we will be here, telling you all there is to know!