Razer just bought cloud phone firm, Nextbit

Razer has continued to expand its library of subsidiaries, with the purchase of Nextbit, the company behind the cloud-connected Robin smartphone. The device was initially Kickstarted in 2015 and offered an interesting take on a mobile handset. While low cost and not a flagship performing device, it would learn from what the users did, archiving files and folders which are rarely used on to the cloud, to save local device space and improve performance.

It's not exactly clear how such a device or portfolio as Nextbit owns, fits into Razer's overall strategy, but it's possible that it simply wants to sell mobile handsets as well as its currently available hardware offerings.

However CNET suggests that Razer may not continue to sell the Nextbit Robin once the merger is complete, which would suggest it has something else in mind for the company. Could it be that Razer wants to develop its own smartphone? More likely it has something in mind that could target cloud gaming.

"Nextbit is one of the most exciting companies in the mobile space," says Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan. "Razer has a track record of disrupting industries where our technology and ability to design and innovate have allowed us to dominate categories with longstanding incumbents, such as the peripherals and laptop categories. With the talent that Nextbit brings to Razer, we look forward to unleashing more disruption and growing our business in new areas."

What do you think Razer will do with Nextbit?