See the Ubuntu Edge in flesh, the smartphone that wants to revolutionize the industry

We're getting closer and closer to the 22nd, which will mark a month since Canonical announced the Ubuntu Edge and the extravagant crowd-funding campaign it hopes to close. The eagle-eyed among you probably also remember a rather important detail – unless the campaign hosted over at Indiegogo manages to secure a whopping $32 million in funding by August 22, Canonical won't get even a cent, and the Edge simply won't happen.

A great-looking and sounding project, the Ubuntu Edge campaign was initially off to a great start, raising an impressive $2 million in under 12 hours. Unfortunately, funding for the project has been slowing down ever since, reaching almost a complete stop – $9.8 million – that's the amount raised as of this writing. With just 9 days left until the official end of the campaign, it's fair to say that failure is behind the corner, unless we witness some kind of a miracle.

We can't help but feel disappointed over this, and we sure as hell aren't alone. Vowing that the Ubuntu Edge would be to smartphones what Formula 1 is to your everyday vehicle, the Edge sure packs some serious promise. Set to come with the latest and greatest multi-core processor available at the time of the release, along with “at least” 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, the Ubuntu Edge sounds like a geek dream come true. The rest of the promised specs include:

• A 4-5inch display of unknown tech, said to be at least 720p. Canonical vowed not to pursue pixel count at the expense of color reproduction and general quality.
• Screen to be covered by sapphire crystal, a material so scratch resistant it is usually considered second only to diamond.
• Dual LTE Antennas allowing for blazing-fast speeds on any network
• Dual boot: Ubuntu Touch/Android
• Silicon-anode Li-ion battery of unknown capacity and size
• A singular, metal unibody

Of course, none of this really amounts to much until we actually get to see a real, tangible product, one that isn't staring back at us from a teaser video. Fortunately for us, a prototype Ubuntu Edge has been showcased during the XDA DevCon 2013 in Miami a few days ago, and there's no shortage of high resolution snaps of it. In spite of the rather hopeless outlook on the project, we're definitely fancying the Edge – said metal unibody looks sleek and premium, especially with the help of the dotted profile. On the other hand, while this may be somewhat of a contested territory, we definitely could see a larger display, perhaps a 4.7-incher, fitting well with the current design, even adding to the overall appeal of the phone.

But don't let us keep you any longer from seeing the Ubuntu Edge for yourself – head right for the gallery and enjoy the view of a smartphone that you'll probably never hold.


source: Adam Outler