14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical's Ubuntu Edge IndieGoGo campaign has ended and Mark Shuttleworth wrote a personal message to the people who backed the project and to the Ubuntu community.
Ubuntu Edge has been defined as the Formula 1 car for the mobile industry and Canonical's intentions was to build this “car.”
“We raised $12,809,906, making the Edge the world’s biggest ever fixed crowdfunding campaign. Let’s not lose sight of what an achievement that is. Close to 20,000 people believed in our vision enough to contribute hundreds of dollars for a phone months in advance, just to help make it happen.
“It wasn’t just individuals, either: Bloomberg LP gave $80,000 and several smaller businesses contributed $7,000 each. Thank you all for getting behind us,” Mark Shuttleworth states in this message.
He also explains that the biggest winner of this campaign is Ubuntu because this entire endeavor has raised public awareness and a lot of companies that didn't hear about Ubuntu are now interested.
Probably the most interesting piece of information from the Canonical founder is that Ubuntu Edge might not be gone. He initially announced that the phone would not be built if the IndieGoGo project didn't make it, but he also said that not all hope was lost.
“All of the support and publicity has continued to drive our discussions with some major manufacturers, and we have many of the world’s biggest mobile networks already signed up to the Ubuntu Carrier Advisory Group. They’ll have been watching this global discussion of Ubuntu and the need for innovation very closely indeed. Watch this space!” Mark Shuttleworth concludes.
This can mean a lot of things. Maybe a manufacturer has expressed its interest into making the Ubuntu Edge after all, or maybe one will be trying to make its own version. Whatever the case, the Ubuntu Edge campaign will show its influence for a long time.