Ubuntu Edge

The Ubuntu Edge was a proposed high-concept smartphone announced by Canonical Ltd. on 22 July 2013. Canonical was seeking to crowdfund a production run of around 40,000 units through Indiegogo. It had the highest target of any crowdfunded project to date, $32,000,000 over a one-month campaign. The Edge was not intended to go into mass production after the initial run, but rather to serve as a demonstration for new technologies for the industry. The Edge fell short of its funding goal, raising only $12,809,906, with 5682 pledges to purchase the standard model of the handset.

The Edge was designed as a hybrid device, which would function as a high-end smartphone (with both Ubuntu Touch and Android), or—when used with a monitor, keyboard and mouse—be able to operate as a conventional desktop PC running Ubuntu. The Ubuntu Edge was also designed to support dual boot, and was to run along with Android.

Fundraising campaign

Reaction to Canonical's announcement was mixed; while it raised over a million dollars in the first five hours, one commentator has noted the unclear market for the device, with a large number of smartphone operating systems already available, and no precedent showing demand for a "single device" combining the phone with the user's primary computer. The first devices were offered for $600 against a main cost of $825; following the initial launch, this was revised to offer $625, $675 and $725 tranches as earlier ones were filled. Further revisions to the pricing came on 8 August, making it a flat $695 per unit. The first major company to make a pledge was by Bloomberg LP, which pledged $80,000.

Ubuntu

Ubuntu may refer to:

Computing

See also

Edge

Edge or EDGE may refer to:

Aviation

Mathematics, science, and technology

Ubuntu Touch

Ubuntu Touch (also known as Ubuntu Phone) is a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system developed by Canonical UK Ltd and the Ubuntu community. It is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers.

History

Mark Shuttleworth announced on 000000002011-10-31-000031 October 2011 that by Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu will support smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and other smart screens (such as car head units and smartwatches). The "goal for Ubuntu is to reach full convergence (same platform and libraries on all devices), Ubuntu 14.04 and 14.10 are not fully there yet". The Ubuntu platform for phones was unveiled on 000000002013-01-02-00002 January 2013. The Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview was released on 000000002013-02-21-000021 February 2013.

Canonical released Ubuntu Touch 1.0, the first developer/partner version on 17 October 2013, along with Ubuntu 13.10 that "primarily supports the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 phones, though there are images available for other phones and tablets", and released a "relatively 'stable' build for wider testing and feedback" on 17 April 2014, along with Ubuntu 14.04. A preview version of the software is available for installation on certain additional Android handsets including the Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Edition as a Developer Preview as of 21 February 2013. Developers have access to all of the source code under a license allowing modification and redistribution of the software.

Mark Shuttleworth

Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African entrepreneur and space tourist who became the first citizen of an independent African country to travel to space. Shuttleworth funded and founded Canonical Ltd. at 2004 and as of 2013, provides leadership for the Ubuntu operating system. He currently lives on the Isle of Man and holds dual citizenship of South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Early life

Born in Welkom in South Africa's Orange Free State as a son of a surgeon and of a nursery-school teacher, Shuttleworth attended school at Western Province Preparatory School (where he eventually became Head Boy in 1986), followed by one term at Rondebosch Boys' High School, and then at Bishops/Diocesan College, where he was Head Boy in 1991.

Shuttleworth obtained a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Finance and Information Systems at the University of Cape Town, where he lived in Smuts Hall. As a student, he became involved in the installation of the first residential Internet connections at the university.