Robin is the only cloud-first smartphone. It gets smarter every day and makes running out of space history.
A new team of ex-Android developers and HTC’s former head of design have built a new smartphone that could eliminate smartphone storage woes — once the company can iron out some kinks. The company, Nextbit, has launched a Kickstarter to fund its new “Robin” smartphone, with a campaign target of $500,000.
Robin, pictured below, is a rectangular 5.2-inch device with a Snapdragon 808 SoC, 32GB of storage offline/100 Gb in cloud*, 3GB of RAM, and a 1080p screen.
*The company has stated that it will not charge users additional fees to buy more storage capacity — if enough people are closing in on 100GB, Robin will simply raise the limit for everyone.
The specs are solid, if not overwhelming, and the device should compete well against the other Snapdragon 808 devices, like the LG G4, already in-market.
The idea behind Robin is this: Instead of constantly shuffling data on and off the phone, why not let the phone track what information you need and when you need it? According to its Kickstarter page, Robin monitors how you use applications and then backs up your apps and photos to its own cloud service.
When your phone runs short on space, the device will intelligently transfer the least-used apps to the cloud, then delete them from your phone to save space. If you need to run an application again, Robin downloads it and shifts something else to the cloud to make room for the new software. Apps that have been transferred to the cloud remain on your home screen, and applications can be pinned to the home screen to prevent them from ever being deleted.
It sounds as if the end-user in charge of which applications do or don’t get transferred to the cloud. Backed-up applications preserve progress or personal preferences.
The full specs
Yes, we believe specs are more than just numbers. But we know you want those too, so here you are:
- Processor: Snapdragon 808
- Memory: 3GB RAM / 32 GB onboard / 100 GB online
- Screen: 5.2” IPS LCD 1080p, Gorilla Glass 4
- Rear Camera: 13MP with phase detection autofocus, dual tone flash
- Front camera: 5MP
- Battery: 2680 mAh
- Dual front facing stereo speakers
- Fingerprint sensor
- NFC
- Quick charging
- Bluetooth 4.0 LE
- WiFi A/B/G/N/AC
- Dimensions: 149mm x 72mm x 7mm
- Weight: Approx. 150g
- GPS enabled
GSM Version (for AT&T and TMobile networks in the US; best choice for all international backers including Canada)
- GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- HSPA 850/900/1700/1800/1900/2100
- LTE Bands 1/2/3/4/5/7/8/12/17/20/28
- CDMA 800/1900
- GSM 850/900/1800/1900
- HSPA 1700/1800/1900/2100
- LTE Bands 1/2/3/4/7/13/20/25/26/41
Price
The hardware is supposed to ship later this year, provided the Kickstarter hits its funding targets, with an off-contract price of $399.