The NuAns NEO Will Never Make It, and That’s Too Bad

The NuAns NEO is the most innovative Windows phone since the original Nokia Lumia, but it will never succeed on Kickstarter, making it yet another also-ran. And that’s a shame, as this is an amazing-looking Windows phone handset.

Previously available in limited fashion in Japan, the NuAns NEO hit Kickstarter on July 1 with a goal of raising $725,000. But halfway through its 40-day campaign, the device has seen only $120,000 in pledges, which indicates that it will almost certainly never be funded for release in the United States and elsewhere.

And that is just too bad.

If you’ve not taken a look at the NuAns NEO, you should do so. The core tech specs are decidedly mid-level—a Snapdragon 617 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 16 GB of flash storage (with microSD expansion), a 5-inch 720p display, and a 13 MP rear-facing camera with a 5 MP front-facing camera—but that doesn’t tell the full story in the slightest. No, the big thing here is that the makers of the NuAns NEO really thought through the user experience and have housed those components in a truly interesting—and, yes, desirable—enclosure.

That is, the NuAns NEO body is modular, and you can easily swap out either or both parts of its two-part shell, creating a fully-customized phone that you can use to match your mood.

“NuAns offers products that are designed to seek comfort with its textures and colors; while maintaining basic functionality and looks,” the small company asserts. “The more we can blend the digital life into the comfort of our space, the easier it is to find the new solution.”

There’s a lot of mumbo-jumbo on the device’s Kickstarter page describing the why’s of its design. But this is easily explained: The NuAns NEO features natural, comfortable materials in attractive colors and textures that you can mix and match. A wood(-like) top, perhaps, and an olive green bottom. Or a flip case. You can mix and match as you like. Or add a stylish and handy strap, shades of the Lumia 1020.

“The exteriors are two separate panels that are artfully designed using different textures; seamlessly unifying the exterior to the body of the phone,” the company explains.

This kind of innovation—and to be clear, rethinking how a phone works is both innovative and very much in keeping with the original goals of Windows phone—should be reworded. And I would personally have no problem throwing $400 at them if I thought this thing had any chance of succeeding. (Actually, you can get in for as little as $250 right now.) But it appears that the market has spoken.

Again. That’s a shame.