Razer, everyone’s favourite gaming peripherals manufacturer is at it again – very recently acquiring mobile startup Nextbit.
This also marks their second acquisition in three months, with audio legends THX, a company of whom they have held a long standing partnership with, joining the Razer family back in October last year.
Razer previously also acquired gaming startup Ouya in 2015, making Nextbit its third acquisition in two years.
What Is This Nextbit Company That Razer Acquired?
Now, what is this Nextbit company, you may ask.
In a nutshell, it is a startup founded by ex-Google employees Tom Moss and Mike Chan. They began its life via software, and have a mission of unifying user experience across multiple device types.
But for most people, you would’ve heard of them because of their very first phone.
The keen eyed of you may have noticed this baby blue smartphone held by enthusiasts around Singapore. The Robin by Nextbit is an Android smartphone powered by cloud storage, and it is an attempt at creating a device that has “unlimited storage” through the cloud.
Though not as widespread in user base as its more prominent Android rivals, the phone is unique enough so that you can spot one from far away.
Joining Razer
Today marks the day that Nextbit joins the Cult of Razer, as the gaming company formally made an announcement across all its channels with regards to this undisclosed deal.
As with any acquisition of a device manufacturer, the first thing that is of utmost concern comes from the product owners of said manufacturer.
The tech community need not look far for horror stories.
When Fitbit bought Pebble back in December, the less-than-satisfactory decision by the company to immediately cease all support for users has been met with customers’ fury.
In joining Razer, as with the THX deal, Nextbit has the freedom to continue operations independently, and Razer has even officially said that “Nextbit will continue with product support and software updates for its Robin smartphone.”
With that said though, the Robin has officially been discontinued by Nextbit, but still, the good news for existing Robin users is that they will continue receiving support for at least the next six months.
A Razer Phone Next?
It’s no secret that Razer has been clamouring for a smartphone, and with Nextbit now being part of the company, that may well be happening in the near future.
Why it will not happen immediately, though, is simple – both Razer and Nextbit are in the business of disruption.
Razer has been doing the PC world a huge favour through their peripherals and has also forever changed the face of laptops. Nextbit, with the Robin , tried to make the idea of a phone dependent on cloud storage a reality, though the world isn’t quite ready for it yet.
The only Razer acquisition to have made an immediate presence was OUYA, when Razer unleashed the Forge TV, but that didn’t live long either.
So unless Razer can ensure that its smartphone can have the same impact in the market like what the Razer Blade has done for laptops, don’t expect to see the three headed snake logo on the back of your next phone…yet.
