The Nextbit Robin comes in two colours: one dark, and the other white and mint. It's the mint variant that is a true breath of fresh air. It looks so pretty that one could buy it for the design alone.
Flat all over and totally rectangular without a curve in sight, this phone is symmetrically crafted and thin and light to boot. But also flat are the power and volume buttons, making it a little difficult to find them by mere feel. The power button is also a fingerprint sensor and it registers the print without a fuss and also goes very quickly from wake to unlock.
Quick Specs* Qualcomm 64-bit Hexa-core 808 SoC
* 3GB RAM with 32GB internal storage and 100 GB cloud storage
* Android 6.0.1 with Nextbit launcher
* 5.2-inch 1080 x 1920 display with 480ppi density
* 2,680mAh battery
The display on the Robin is pleasant and clear but often needs the brightness turned up high. But the text labels, in the signature aqua blue, make things very difficult to read.
A unique thing about the Robin is that it doesn't encourage you to use up all the onboard storage but rather it backs up whatever you don't use too much to its cloud. That includes apps, which get greyed out on the screen, photos, which turn into low res placeholders on the phone, and even data within apps. When you need any of these, you just tap and they download right back. Apps you use stay pinned on the screen.
This cloud first approach is interesting but in India will cause distress to those who don't ant to deplete their data plans downloading things they expected to store on their devices again and again.
This phone needs to be more customised for India if it's to compete with the hundreds of Androids in the market. It's not a Dual-SIM, it doesn't have FM radio, no USB OTG, no earphones, no adaptor included and no memory card slot.
The Nextbit Robin has a good camera, a Samsung 13MP and 5MP set. But no optical image stabilisation and just an f2.2 aperture. It's also rather slow. More than that, the camera software lets it down. A lack of features and controls, modes and an HDR setting that doesn't really help.
At Rs 19,999 the Nextbit Robin is very pretty and refreshingly designed as well as to be admired for its bold, different approach to Android, but Indians will need a lot more for the price.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
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