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Nextbit isn't bringing the Robin to Verizon and Sprint after all

CEO Tom Moss's message to backers spreads the blame around.

If you backed Nextbit's Robin and have pledged allegiance to Sprint or Verizon in the US, well, you're out of luck. Nextbit CEO Tom Moss admitted in a message to the project's backers that development of the CDMA Robin was based on misguided information from potential carrier partners, and noted that there "doesn't appear to be a workable solution." In other words, that CDMA Robin isn't happening and Moss's remarks don't leave much hope for future developments. Here are the important bits: anyone who ordered that variant will get a full refund within 48 hours, and a 25 percent discount to Nextbit's online store.

Those hoping to use Robin's thoughtful cloud backup powers on Sprint or Verizon are no strangers to disappointment. After all, the startup announced its plans to build the CDMA model last September -- then a backer update issued this past January revealed the team had pushed back the device's launch from February to March, and then April. While it probably won't lessen the disappointment rippling through Nextbit's fanbase, Moss was surprisingly candid about why things went south. In short, it was just as much due to zeal to please everyone (he admits the team was "too optimistic, too bullish") to shoddy legwork from the carriers they tried to work with.

"What people at the carriers, in good faith given our need for quick answers, thought would take 'weeks' has turned into 'months,'," Moss wrote. "What they thought would cost 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' has turned into 'millions.' And we're still not there." Sadly, it's not clear if Nextbit ever will be -- here's hoping the team dusts itself off and does a better job managing expectations next time.