LINUX VENDOR Canonical has announced it is seeking crowdfunding for its Ubuntu Edge smartphone that will run its Ubuntu Linux distribution.
Canonical already announced its plan to put its popular Ubuntu Linux distribution on smartphones, but now the firm has shown off rendered designs for its own showpiece smartphone that when docked becomes a thin client. The firm's Ubuntu Edge smartphone project is seeking $32m (£21.5m) in crowdfunding before it will see the light of day.
Canonical's Ubuntu Edge smartphone has very rough specifications, with the firm hoping that the rendered design will be enough to tempt users to part with $600 for a handset on the first day and $830 for the remaining 30 days. The firm said that the smartphone will have a 4.5in HD 720p high resolution screen, a multi-core processor, at least 4GB of RAM and an 8MP front camera, and said that the device will be able to dual-boot Ubuntu Linux and Google's Android mobile operating system.
Mark Shuttleworth told journalists that the firm doesn't want to get into the hardware game and is doing this to see whether it will be popular. He said some of the specifications will be subject to change but did say that the 128GB of flash storage is fixed and that even the 40,000 production run could be increased by a small amount if the demand is there.
Shuttleworth was pressed by journalists about what processor will be inside the device but he didn't say, simply claiming that a number of semiconductor vendors are interested in the device. He also played up the display, which will have a sapphire crystal covering, the same material found on high-end watches.
Canonical has set itself a tough crowdfunding goal with the Ubuntu Edge, trying to get £21.5m in just 31 days. Shuttleworth said that if the amount isn't met then the firm won't go ahead with the project.
However if the firm hits its funding target, then those who put either $600 or $830 up can expect their Ubuntu Edge device in May 2014
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