Canonical, a 14 giorni dal termine della raccolta fondi, annuncia che grazie alle tante donazioni e all’investimento di Bloomberg e sperabilmente altre aziende, hanno deciso di abbassare il prezzo di Ubuntu Edge e di non modificarlo più: 695 dollari (circa 520 euro). Vedremo se questa e altre mosse aiuteranno la raccolta a raggiungere o almeno ad avvicinarsi all’obiettivo ambiziosissimo del 32 milioni.
Ecco il testo ufficiale sulla pagina Indiegogo del progetto:
Ubuntu Edge now $695, thanks to major industry backing
With 14 days to go, it’s time for our biggest announcement yet. From now until the end of the campaign, we’re fixing the price of the Ubuntu Edge at $695! No limited quantities, no more price changes. You wanted a more affordable Edge, and now you’ve got it.
How are we able to do this? Mainly thanks to all of you. The huge support the Ubuntu Edge has been receiving from all corners of the world has really sent a message to the mobile industry — and that message has been received loud and clear.
Yesterday we announced that Bloomberg LP has snapped up the first of the $80,000 Enterprise bundles, and we expect more businesses to follow suit. To make it even more appealing, we’ve raised the number of phones included in the bundle from 100 to 115.
Even better, since the campaign started breaking records on day one, we’ve been negotiating with several major component suppliers who are keen to see the Edge reach its goal and drive the adoption of new mobile technologies. This is one of the key benefits of keeping some of the core specifications open: as a result of these negotiations, we can now produce the same state-of-the-art device for less than we originally estimated.
Edge for less
So of course we’re passing those savings on to you. There’s now a single unlimited $695 Ubuntu Edge perk, which comes with a year’s subscription to LastPass Premium and a place on the Founders page. At the end of the campaign, anyone who’s already pledged more than $695 for the phone will be offered a refund of the difference.
There will be no further price reductions, and we must reiterate that the Ubuntu Edge is exclusive to Indiegogo. It will not be available to buy anywhere outside of this campaign, even at launch.
The target is still $32 million, so we will need to ship a few more phones at $695 than we would at a higher price, but we believe we can do it. We have two weeks, and we have the best community out there, so let’s get to work: share this news, get the word out, and let’s get the Ubuntu Edge made!
The Ubuntu Edge team
