Nextbit Adds a Verizon Compatible Smartphone to its Kickstarter Lineup

[dgstorm]

Not too long ago we shared a story about the new "cloud-first" Android device called the Robin. It's a Kickstarter campaign from a company called Nextbit. One of the primary complaints about the phone was that it was being designed to only support GSM networks in the US. That meant only AT&T and T-Mobile would get it. Of course, there are a ton of Verizon customers who felt left out.

Luckily, the Nextbit Kickstarter exceeded its funding goals by a lot, because now they announced a new version of the device that will be specifically for Verizon customers. Here's a quote with the details,

Special flash sale for Verizon subscribers on Friday
We received tons of fan mail asking us to make a Verizon compatible version of Robin. We’ve been working our tails (get it? tails?) off to bring you a version of Robin that can properly support the Verizon network and we’re happy to tell you we’ve done it!

Because Verizon subscribers couldn’t participate in the Early Adopter reward tier, we’re doing something special for you: a Verizon only flash sale. Starting at 10am Pacific tomorrow(Friday, Sept 18) we will offer a Verizon compatible Robin for only $299 to the first 300 backers. This sale will be limited to US backers only and is only for the Verizon version, not the currently available version. Mark your calendars. Set your alarms.

The Verizon compatible version is available to current backers and after the flash sale, just choose any reward level. We will let you pick whether you want the original or Verizon model in your backer survey after the campaign is over. (The exception is that tomorrow's flash sale is only for the Verizon model.)

Source: Kickstarter

 

[xDMONEYx]

Hmmm, very tempting. I have been wanting a phone with a larger screen than what this has, however I really like the design of this phone, and the fact that it looks to be super developer friendly is another great selling point for me. So many intersting phones coming out at reasonable prices, what is a man to do!?

 

[Mustang02]

Hmmm, very tempting. I have been wanting a phone with a larger screen that what this has, however I really like the design of this phone, and the fact that it looks to be super developer friendly is another great selling point for me. So many intersting phones coming out at reasonable prices, what is a man to do!?

buy them all.

 

[tech_head]

I'd be all over it with a microSD but that breaks their paradigm. I think the whole thing is flawed with tiered plans.
If unlimited were the norm then it might make sense, but you will be charged to get access to your data. I keep my music on my phone.

 

[FoxKat]

I'd be all over it with a microSD but that breaks their paradigm. I think the whole thing is flawed with tiered plans.
If unlimited were the norm then it might make sense, but you will be charged to get access to your data. I keep my music on my phone.

But that's the whole idea about moving away from unlimited and into tiered pricing for data. I've said it before, but in case anyone missed it, there are only so many minutes in a day/month that you can be on a phone call, so unlimited calling isn't really unlimited, in the sense that if you were on a phone call for the entire 24 hours each day for 30 days, you've reached the limit of how many minutes you can be on a phone call.

In contrast, unlimited data is truly unlimited, since there is essentially no limit as to how much data you can pull down in a month, except perhaps only limited by the speed of the connection, and if you're saving that data, what possible storage capacity you may have. Of course if you're streaming, such as watching movies back to back the only limit is the size of the movies and how many you can stand to watch in a row. Tethering just makes this even more potential room for abuse.

So in a nutshell, devices will get faster, throughput will get faster, pipelines will get wider, data size in files will be growing (think 4K video), and consumption of data JUST HAS to increase over time. Consumption of phone call time will likely not increase by any significant amount, and if anything is becoming less and less with texting and social networking taking away the good old voice to voice communication.

So if you want to charge for something and be profitable, you charge for the consumable that gets the highest rate of consumption, in this case...data.

 

[tech_head]

Hi,

I already know tha the goal is to make you pay for what is in demand.
Texting was initially free way back when. It costs them nothing because it's in the idle portion of the channel.
They found that it was popular and made it a pay service.
Data was initially unlimited until lots of phones had data ability. Now they charge for the water in the pipe.
We get charged more than any other modern nation.
Our prices are going up where the rest of the world sees the prices in a downward trend.

The device manufacturers are playing into the hands of the carriers because they want small storage so they can sell you access to your data. I'm not buying.
I plan to buy a new phone in a few months. Moto X Pure with extra 128GB card or iPhone 6s Plus with 128GB.
I have unlimited but I like my music and data on my device and not in the cloud. I do stream though.
I use about 12-15GB per month.

 

[RyanPm40]

When was texting free?? I've been texting for 11 years and it's never been free for me haha maybe I'm still just a liiiitttle too young?

 

[tech_head]

Read my signature:
"I have forgotten more about technology, than most people will ever know in their lifetime."

I've had a mobile/cell phone for more than 20 years if that helps.