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Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

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Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#51

Post by jt2190 »

rlpb wrote: post #29
jt2190 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes you are correct. I screwed up by pasting the wrong FAQ item. What I was trying to get at is that there's no guarantee of a phone even if the project is funded .

> What I was trying to get at is that there's no guarantee of a phone even if the project is funded. Guarantee from whom? Normally I'd agree, because the fundraiser is typically a startup, perhaps a limited company, with no existing business with which to back refunds. So they could burn through the money and end up with nothing to issue refunds with. So from your perspective, there's no guarantee, since suing them w…

  > Normally I'd agree, because the fundraiser is typically a 
  > startup, perhaps a limited company, with no existing 
  > business with which to back refunds.
What type of entity is raising the funds (startup, limited company, etc.) is irrelevant. The point is that they are asking for an investment, and yes, as you point out, there are no refunds if an investment doesn't work out.

This is very different from the mindset of a consumer, who is purchasing the product that was created with the investors money. If the investment doesn't pan out, the consumer has nothing to buy. The investor looses their investment.

My concern is that by offering product in exchange for investment (essentially a forward contract[1]), consumers are lured into taking on the risks of investors. The language on the fundraising page is, unfortunately, quite vague about this.

Again, I'm not saying that Canonical can't deliver, and I'm certain that they'll do their best to make this work out. I do wish that they'd make a better effort of warning off people who think they're simply buying a phone that won't be delivered for many months.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_contract

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#52

Post by btian »

netcan wrote: post #45

I don't quite get what's going on here. Is this an idea for a major commercial product or is it a quirky fun thing for the ubuntu community? The scale they're aiming for seems to imply the former. Usable as a desktop is a cool idea, but more of a "linux on your wristwatch" idea than one with real use. I mean, if you have a keyboard & monitor handy, how hard is it to have a PC too? Cheap micro desktops are coming out…

It's somewhere in between, I'd say more towards the latter. At around ~60k units it's hardly a "major" commercial product considering even Microsoft sells millions of their Surface RT tablets in a quarter.

I think it's a very cool idea (dual boot and everything). Hardware specs look top notch.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#54

Post by lettergram »

netcan wrote: post #45

I don't quite get what's going on here. Is this an idea for a major commercial product or is it a quirky fun thing for the ubuntu community? The scale they're aiming for seems to imply the former. Usable as a desktop is a cool idea, but more of a "linux on your wristwatch" idea than one with real use. I mean, if you have a keyboard & monitor handy, how hard is it to have a PC too? Cheap micro desktops are coming out…

I think the idea is that it is both a PC and a phone. This allows you to plug in your phone as your PC (like those cheap micro desktops), and have a working cell phone.

One thing I find really interesting is that for a galaxy 4S or iPhone5 the cost is somewhere between $650-$800 for a uncontracted phone. That being said, this Ubuntu phone would be both a Cheap micro desktop as well as a presumably good phone running either android or Ubuntu mobile and both for roughly the same price as the other "nice" phones out there.

Beyond this specific phone, I am guessing their real purpose is to break into the mobile OS industry using this Ubuntu phone because it would make headlines and in turn give a nice PR campaign. Not to mention it would prove that there is a sizable market for higher end phones which can support the Ubuntu desktop/cell phone idea and push the technology forward quicker.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#55

Post by rufugee »

netcan wrote: post #45

I don't quite get what's going on here. Is this an idea for a major commercial product or is it a quirky fun thing for the ubuntu community? The scale they're aiming for seems to imply the former. Usable as a desktop is a cool idea, but more of a "linux on your wristwatch" idea than one with real use. I mean, if you have a keyboard & monitor handy, how hard is it to have a PC too? Cheap micro desktops are coming out…

I mean, if you have a keyboard & monitor handy, how hard is it to have a PC too?

If your phone supports use as a full computer, then the need for a PC is obviated. In my case, I have roughly 3500 employees, of which approximately 2000 have computers. Almost all of them carry smart phones. I envision a future state where those smart phones are also their PCs...they become more mobile and can easily access their data at any of our locations and I've just cut 2000 computers out of my budget. Sure, an Ubuntu desktop won't work for all, but it would work for many of our staff...70% of what we do is web-based already.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#56

Post by lettergram »

timmillwood wrote: post #4

I am struggling to justify buying a phone now that won't ship for 10 months. By then Apple, Samsung, HTC etc will all have far superior devices

I doubt it would be superior.. . Seems to me the specs for the processor are not set yet and Apple, Samsung, HTC etc don't currently have a phone up to par. Meaning AT BEST they would be equivalent.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#57

Post by lettergram »

kevcampb wrote: post #9
eterm wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They've missed their target, I don't think a single kickstarter has been successful having only reached 20% on day 1. (Most successful drives have well over 50% done day 1.) Here they haven't even reached that after a few days. Unless shuttleworth decides to stick the money in himself this won't be happening.

Very curious to whether that's allowed or not. Run a Kickstarter campaign, buy your own product to fill in demand. You'd think that if they get within 90% of total and the option is there they'd take it - the 10% of the items they buy themselves they'll get to sell on anyway. Can someone read the Kickstarter T&Cs for me? :)

I am sure it is, everyone still gets the cut of the donations so you'll still be paying them for their services.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#58

Post by rythie »

netcan wrote: post #45

I don't quite get what's going on here. Is this an idea for a major commercial product or is it a quirky fun thing for the ubuntu community? The scale they're aiming for seems to imply the former. Usable as a desktop is a cool idea, but more of a "linux on your wristwatch" idea than one with real use. I mean, if you have a keyboard & monitor handy, how hard is it to have a PC too? Cheap micro desktops are coming out…

The problem is that if you go to some random machine, you'll most likely have the following problems:

  - Getting an account takes most of the one day you're there
  - None of the software you use is there 
  - It's not even the OS you use
  - There are restrictions on the machine
  - There are viruses on the machine (if it's a home machine)
For these reasons people often use carry around a laptop.

Carrying a laptop is pain, because you need to look after it and so you don't have it everywhere you go. You don't with a phone - it's in your pocket - all the time.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#59

Post by toyg »

forgottenpaswrd wrote: post #43

At this prices they will need to add financing options to their phones. We are in the era of Ben Bernanke free money for everyone. Getting credit should not be that hard. Financing is a top priority thing for selling phones and cars in the real world. Probably not in Mark Shutterworth's land thought.

They are currently cheap, at least from Europe - an iPhone is £529, the Edge is less than £450. If they really make it and get some carrier interest, prices will go further down.

Re: Canonical adds a $625 and $675 UbuntuEdge reward level

#60

Post by weisser »

griffordson wrote: post #44
bobsy wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wondering what scenarios you foresee you using the desktop feature in? If your travelling there won't be a screen available unless you lug one around. In which case you might as well carry a laptop. At home and work you probably have a computer. I think it is an interesting concept but I don't quite see the practical use. Unless it had like a stand and a projector or something.

I wonder the same thing. But I would be really interested in trying a small Mac Air sized screen/keyboard shell that had a port that I could slide such a phone in to. Sort of a portable docking station.

So the shell would only work with the phone inside it? That doesn't seem very practical.
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