14 DAY TRIAL // The Ubuntu Edge campaign has been backed by a lot of people, but no corporate entities has pledged until now. Bloomberg LP has become the first major backer of the Ubuntu Edge phone.
Canonical had a very successful start of its IndieGoGo campaign and, half-way through the project, it is not doing all that bad. It's a well-known fact that crowd-funding campaigns tend to lag after a powerful start and usually pick up Steam towards the end.
The Ubuntu Edge IndieGoGo campaign smashed the all-time record for the first day and, if successful, it will be the largest crowd-funding sum of money ever raised, $32 million (€24 million).
Pledging for one device is one thing and thousands of people have already done it, but Canonical needed some major backers in order to give its initiative the necessary credibility. This is where Bloomberg came into play.
"Bloomberg supports open innovation and initiatives, such as Ubuntu Edge, that align with our software development and business priorities."
"With this investment, Bloomberg developers will contribute to an open technology initiative that could benefit our clients and have a powerful impact on the future of mobile computing," said Shawn Edwards, chief technology officer at Bloomberg LP.
More precisely, Bloomberg is now the first buyer of the $80,000 (€60,000) perk which includes, according to the official website, 100 Ubuntu Edge smartphones, plus access to best-practice workshops and 30 days of online support to help CIOs and IT managers integrate Ubuntu for Android into the workplace.
If the Ubuntu Edge campaign is successful, it will be ready for launch in May 2014. One thing to remember though, there won't be another chance to buy this phone because there won't be a retail version of it.
Ubuntu Edge is a phone developed by Canonical that features some interesting hardware specifications. More details about the price and about the campaign can be found in our initial report.