Why not register?


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC [ DST ]

Author Message
PostPosted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:32 pm  Post subject: Crowdsourcing Thread: Ubuntu Edge, Ubuntu Mobile
Reply with quote
User avatar
Offline

Site Admin
Joined: Sat Nov 02, 2002 1:35 am
Posts: 19753
Location: En España
Image

Been using ubuntu for a while, their new mobile OS looks pretty good. I have to say unity really is driving me nuts (I've actually just switched to Gnome 3 out of frustration).

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ubuntu-edge/x/1803059
http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2013/07/ubun ... uper-phone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23402994
Quote:
The developer of the Ubuntu operating system has turned to a crowdfunding site in an attempt to launch a handset pre-installed with its software.

London-based Canonical is seeking to raise $32m (£20.8m) over the next 30 days to produce 40,000 devices.

To succeed it needs to raise several times more cash than any other crowd-financed project has done before.

However, one market watcher said even if succeeds, the mobile OS would probably still struggle to gain ground.

Canonical has said that if it manages to hit its goal using Indiegogo's website it plans to deliver the phones to qualifying backers by May 2014.

Indiegogo's current funding record is $1,665,380 which was raised by Scandu Scout - a scheme to build a Star Trek-style Tricorder medical scanning device.

Its rival Kickstarter's record is $10,266,845 for the Pebble smart watch.

Premium price
Canonical says Linux-based Ubuntu is different to other smartphone operating systems because it can run the same desktop applications as a PC installed with its software.

Programs look like a standard mobile app when the handset is being used as a standalone device, and then change their user interfaces to that of a desktop application when the phone is docked with a monitor. In addition the OS supports apps written in the HTML5 web language, albeit at slower speeds.

Canonical began offering a version of its system which can be run on a limited number of Android devices in February, and does not charge for the download.

But it has decided that backers need to commit $600 on day one or $830 on the remaining days of the crowdfunding campaign to secure one of its forthcoming Ubuntu Edge handsets. That is roughly double the cost of LG's Nexus 4 mobile, which supports its software.

Ubuntu Edge
Canonical says the Ubuntu OS is so simple that its handset does not need a home button
Canonical's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, defended the sum saying that, in return, enthusiasts would secure a "Formula 1" device.

"The new handsets will have substantially more Ram [random access memory] than a typical high-end phone," he told the BBC.

"I would describe today's devices as being more useful as a thin client... offloading most of the processing to the cloud.

"What we're interested in is the next generation, giving you enough horsepower to actually have the full desktop experience powered by the phone."

Record attempt
In addition to four gigabytes of Ram, the firm is also promising an above average 128GB of storage and to make the handset's 4.5in (11.5cm) screen out of sapphire crystal - a tough substance already used by the premium Vertu brand. It will also offer an option to boot into Android if desired.

Mr Shuttleworth said that the Ubuntu Edge would be made by an Asian manufacturer which already made handsets for other firms, but declined to name the company.

He added that his firm only expected to break even on the project, but hoped it would stoke wider interest in Ubuntu as Canonical pursued efforts to get other firms to sell devices pre-installed with its software.

Ubuntu Edge docked with monitor
Canonical says the handset would be powerful enough to act as a normal desktop PC
However, he acknowledged that if his firm failed to raise the full amount, Indiegogo's terms meant it would not receive any of the pledged cash.

"We're very sanguine we may not hit the green light level," he said.

"But I think the timing for a record attempt like this is very good - there's a sense the mobile industry has become constrained in its ability to deliver innovation.

"If you're focusing on very high volume markets there's a lot of risk to you in introducing a new technology to a device that you want to sell 40 or 50 million units."

Canonical makes money by charging for support and training for Ubuntu and also plans to take a share of sales from online marketplaces offered by handset makers who adopt its software.

New entrants
Ubuntu is seeking to gain ground in an increasingly crowded smartphone marketplace.

Google's Android and Apple's iOS currently dominate sales well ahead of Blackberry's BB10 and Microsoft's Windows Phone rivals.

Earlier this month, the first phones running Mozilla's Firefox OS also went on sale; Joalla recently started taking pre-orders for handsets running its Sailfish system, based on Nokia's cancelled Meego platform; and Samsung and Intel have just launched a $4m fund to encourage developers to make apps for the forthcoming Tizen system.

Firefox and Sailfish phones
Firefox OS and Sailfish are two other mobile operating systems launching this year
"There's a groundswell of operating systems coming to market," said Nick Dillon, senior analyst at the telecoms consultancy Ovum.

"The challenge for Ubuntu is it needs to offer something unique and compelling.

"Using your phone as your single device is different, but at the moment it seems a niche proposition.

"Ubuntu has been relatively successful in the PC market, but it's not a big consumer brand in the way some of the other big mobile companies - like Blackberry, Nokia and Microsoft are - and even they're having a tough time of it."

Canonical's campaign will run until 21 August.


This would be the biggest crowdsourcing project to date.

I've made this thread a bit more generic, since I crowdfund a lot of things:

Successful
Pebble (wearing one now)
MakeyMakey
Men in Suits
Groundwalk
git-annex
American Ivory
SCI-FLY
The HuMn Wallet

In development
l8
TYLT VU Wireless Charger
The Barman
SchemaMigrations for Django
Project GODUS
Learn Game Programming
Spacecommand
Phil Tippett's MAD GOD
Carmageddon: Reincarnation


Failed
Death Inc.
Freeman Project
Spark

Current
HackedPack

And about to donate/fund Ubuntu Edge.

Overall I'm having a real positive experience to crowdfunding. Its like ebay, you can have a real good time and get addicted, or a real badtime.

Out of all the failed projects, it was dissapointing to see Death Inc. and Spark get cancelled. Death inc looked like a great game but they went bankrupt. I got an alpha and they refunded the money. Spark was a wifi bulb with a REST interface, unfortunately it didn't get funded. And the freeman project is currently evaluating what to do with the reduced funds, that was on indiegogo which unlike kickstarter can get partial funding options.


In terms of successful, the Pebble is awesome, I never used to wear a watch but its really cool. MakeyMakey is another neat project, you can make an X11 input out of anything that can carry an electric charge, ie. a banner driven input device :lol: Men in Suits was a documentary about screen actors that don a suit, gozilla, etc. Groundwalk was one of the more dissapointing projects, a pair of sandals with artificial grass... wore them to a party :D Git-Annex is a remote file storing piece of software. American Ivory was some great piano tunes. SCI-FLY is a hands on sfx project, very 70s style stop-motion scifi. The most dissappointing was the HuMn wallet, it was a oversized wallet.. not really for me but it was a risk going in.

_________________
Mouse nipple for the win! Trackpoint or death!


Top
 Profile  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  

All times are UTC [ DST ]

Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 5 guests


Moderator: Help Mods

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Frontpage / Forums / Scifi


What's blood for, if not for shedding?