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Former HTC and Apple employees are creating hardware together

Former HTC and Apple employees are creating hardware together

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Former HTC design head Scott Croyle hints at NextBit's next big move

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NextBit, a mobile developer that wanted to bring Handoff-style app switching to Android, is now getting into the hardware business. Recode reports that the startup now plans on designing its own smartphone. Though details are thin, the device will presumably showcase the company's unique take on cloud storage. More information is promised for the coming weeks.

NextBit, which is run by alums from Google, Apple, HTC, and Amazon, initially unveiled its app transfer software late last year. Called Baton, the software allows the user to save their state in whatever app they're using, and share that data to other Baton-ready device. Then, via a NextBit account, the same app can be opened on another device in the exact same spot. The one caveat is NextBit requires manufacturers to build Baton into their devices instead of allowing users to download it. The company thus partnered with CyanogenMod to release the tool at launch as a way of making it available.

"We don't have to be for everybody."

Making a phone of its own might put NextBit in a position to get its vision more exposure. What's more, the startup wants to differentiate itself from other Android manufacturers by building a phone that's consciously counter to what's already available. "We want to set this off as something different," Scott Croyle, NextBit's chief product officer, told Recode. "We don’t have to be for everybody." We'll learn more about the fruit of their labor soon enough.