Why are people getting so excited for Nextbit’s first smartphone?

There’s a good chance that you’ve never even heard about Nextbit, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pay attention to the new smartphone the company will unveil next month. The startup was founded as the developer of a little-known cloud-based tool for Android users but has since decided to focus on creating hardware, and it certainly has the experience to do so. Many of Nextbit’s employees are mobile industry veterans and former employees of companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and HTC, so a lot us have high hopes for the company’s first-ever smartphone.

Samsung and Apple aren’t the only ones with new smartphones looming on the horizon. A company by the name of Nextbit is slated to unveil its first Android smartphone early next month and according to CEO Tom Moss, it’ll be friggin’ awesome. Why should you care about a debut smartphone from a company you’ve probably never heard of? For starters, the people running Nextbit have a wealth of experience in the industry. As CNET notes, the startup was originally formed to create a cloud-based tool that allows users to easily transfer files between Android devices. Since that time, the team has shifted its focus to hardware, hence the pending smartphone. Nextbit is backed by Google Ventures and run by the aforementioned Moss, an Android veteran. The roster also consists of fellow Android vet Mike Chan and former HTC design chief Scott Croyle.