Razer acquires Nextbit and its ‘cloud phone’
In the last couple of years Razer has acquired companies including Ouya and THX, and now it’s making a splash in mobile with the purchase of Nextbit. Its latest target introduced the Robin “cloud phone” last year, which we found “beautiful, but flawed.” Its last major announcement was a disappointing one when we learned its plans for a CDMA version were canceled.
Now, it’s good news/bad news. The company has more resources for future products; however, the Robin is no longer on sale. Nextbit says it will continue to provide updates and security patches through February 2018 and fulfill warranties for another six months. According to head of product marketing Eric Lin, “And yes, it’s a good thing. We’re actually excited about it.”
From Razer’s side, CEO Min-Liang Tan says that “With the talent that Nextbit brings to Razer, we look forward to unleashing more disruption and growing our business in new areas.” It’s been a little over a year since Razer promised to “double down” on its Android-powered Forge TV, and we haven’t heard anything since, but perhaps a mobile angle is just what the company needs to pull its strategy together.
Nextbit is joining the @Razer family! Now we’ll have more resources for more exciting (rebellious) projects. https://t.co/rC6Oww7TMO pic.twitter.com/HJScaIlVfS
— Nextbit (@nextbitsys) January 30, 2017
We’re excited to welcome @nextbitsys to the Razer family. Great things are coming – stay tuned.
More info https://t.co/l8i0XYZFtS pic.twitter.com/9WzasurbTB
— RΛZΞR (@Razer) January 30, 2017
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