Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and its open source sponsor Canonical, is making a big splash in a bid to jump start it’s entry into the mobile space by announcing the Ubuntu Edge.
The Ubuntu Edge is a very ambitious smartphone that will be able to run the Ubuntu desktop operating system alongside Android. While the design is a work in progress, the specs should include a fast quad-core CPU (presumably ARM), 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Additional specs include a 4.5-inch 1,280 x 720 display beneath a layer of sapphire crystal glass, an 8MP rear / 2MP front-facing camera and stereo speakers. Connectivity includes LTE, dual-band WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC, and MHL support.
Convergence?
Mark speaks of the convergence of technology when he describes this product. The assumption is the newest mobile processors are capable of delivering an acceptable or better desktop experience.
If I were picking today the following is a short list of contenders in no particular order:
Samsung Exynos 5420
nVidia Tegra 4
Qualcomm Snapdragon 800
Intel Atom Z2580
I have no way to validate this assumption other than look at other products like the Samsung Chromebook which features an Exynos 5 Dual.
The performance of the Samsung Chromebook is so good I forget it’s not an Intel processor inside, which says a lot. Playing 1080p video shows lags at times, but all other video plays just fine. I have no complaints about the user experience offered by the ARM processor.
Source – James Kendrick, ZDNet
Chrome OS leverages the power of internet web servers but Ubuntu in this scenario will have to perform the heavy lifting. I have to question the ability of a mobile processor to adequately run a graphic program like Inkscape.
Putting all of that aside, I am a fan of convergence. In addition to a desktop I own a smartphone, 7″ tablet, and a laptop. I would like to reduce the number of portable devices and I am waiting for either a more powerful Chromebook (not pixel) or a Laptop Convertible like the new ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity. My current strategy is to go with a large phone, remove the tablet, and add a Chromebook or Convertible.
The jury is still out as to whether I am willing to give up my desktop but with the Edge, the assumption is I can.
What Are The Risks?
Time
May of 2014 is a very very long time in this market and a lot can change. The Indiegogo campaign is a marketing stroke of genius, but upon its success the demand will be documented and who is to say someone else won’t bring a competitive product to market sooner. I am thinking of the LG G2 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 as a candidate. Some folks already believe Android is a suitable replacement as a desktop OS. An alternate Google approach could be Android on the phone and Chrome OS on the desktop? With the phone’s built in connectivity this is appealing.
Misdirected Effort
Although stated in the campaign Ubuntu and Canonical are not getting into the hardware business, what other conclusion can one draw. The anticipated build quality of the Edge promises to be very high but what lessons can be learned from the HTC One? Even with millions in sales and carrier endorsements HTC struggles.
Boxed In Marketing
You have to ask the question is Canonical targeting the correct market segment. Other companies believe there is significant pent up demand for the mid-range smart phone. The new Motorola “X” is targeting the middle and rumors say Apple will offer a product which does the same. Canonical software competitors Mozilla and Jolla have products entering the market targeted at the middle.
Another potential challenge is linking the software to a specific hardware product. What options do interested customers have if they like the software but I don’t like the phone? What if they like the phone but their carrier doesn’t support it?
Critical Mass
Is 40,000 phones enough to gain traction for future campaigns? Is 32 million to much? I see this as a challenge. As of this writing it appears the campaign will need to generate a million dollars per day to meet their goal.
Contribute!
I am not going to wait until May for an Edge but I contributed to the project anyway. If you are a user of Ubuntu I would encourage you to do the same. Compared to a Microsoft license, twenty or forty dollar contribution is not too much to ask for the opportunity to support the community which built Ubuntu “13.04″.
Succeed or not, you have to admit the folks at Canonical and the Ubuntu community take thinking out of the box to new heights and I look forward to their success.
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