With 15 days to go, Ubuntu Edge well short of crowdfunding goal

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Edge project, a mobile edition of the desktop OS Ubuntu currently being crowfunded, may fall short of its goal. The smartphone, according to the company, will only be made if users pledge a total of $32 million through the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. And the project comes with a strict time limit of 30 days.

When you do the math, the campaign needs to rope in an average of more than $1 million per day. While the initial few days saw a huge surge in interested buyers, the current numbers show a significant slowdown of funds being raised. Well into its 15th day, the Edge project managed to gather $8.3 million in pledges. This left the ambitious campaign close to $24 million short of the goal.

While the project saw around $3.45 million being pledged in the first 24 hours, the funding slowed soon after that. At the end of the first full week, the project was able to gather a total of $7.07 million. It should be noted that close to 48 percent of that amount was gathered in the first day, though. After the second week, the Edge project was able to add only another $1 million to the tally. Currently, the crowfunding page shows a tally of a little more than $8.5 million. This is a clear indicator that the project is struggling to raise the capital needed for the Ubuntu-powered smartphone.

The Ubuntu Edge has quite a lot left to collect (Image credit: Ubuntu Edge info)

The amount achieved is quite impressive keeping in mind the broader standards of web-based crowdfunding. However, the problem still stands—unless the full amount is gathered, the smartphone will not be made. While the company will continue to look at bringing Ubuntu to smartphones, the dream of having both the hardware and software designed under the same roof is one which seems to be disappearing fast. And the mark a failed project like this can leave on the company’s reputation should also be considered.

Statistical consultants at Open Analytics believe that the campaign will be able to put together an amount in the range of $18 million to $22 million, according to the Guardian. That is still a massive $10 million short of the actual goal. There are still supporters of the project, though. According to the Verge, Joey-Elijah Sneddon, editor of OMG! Ubuntu!, feels that Canonical “could still pull it off”, while saying that there is no existing statistical evidence or benchmark for a crowdfunding campaign of this scale. The project also got a big boost from Bloomberg, which pledged $80,000 to the project in a show of good faith. Bloomberg is the first company to opt for the project’s “Enterprise 100 Bundle” tier.

But the time crunch may be working against the project. Another point that was raised about the project is its tier system. According to Sneddon, the low introductory tiers of the Edge saw the handset being priced at $600 (Rs 36,530 approx) for the first 5,000 backers. Shortly after, the project introduced the $625 (Rs 36,900 approx), $675 (Rs 39,900 approx) or $725 (Rs 42,800 approx) tiers. These tiers have now been removed from the crowdfunding page, though. This, according to the Ubuntu supporter, may have "possibly set unrealistic expectations about the cost of the device." Rationalising the statement, he says, "It's a fair theory: why would you pay $730 — the current price of the Edge — for something that cost $600 just two weeks ago?” The current tiers stand at $775 (Rs 47,180 approx), $780 (Rs 47,490 approx) and $790 (Rs 48,100 approx), apart from the higher tiers, which still seem a bit ambigious.

While many crowdfunding projects have seen a last minute save, Canonical’s $32 million goal may be a bit too far to reach. With 15 days to go, it remains to be seen if the Ubuntu Edge project goes on to become one of the highest-funded campaign of all time to not have reached its goal.