In a difficult situation in the countryside of crowdfunding, Canonical after reviewing its copy to try to redress the balance: the company has just deleted multiple levels of counterparties to offer its Ubuntu Edge smartphone at a single price.
At 13 days of the end of its campaign on Indiegogo, Canonical had a rather bad start to collect the sum expected – and required – to start production of its Ubuntu Edge smartphone. With a little more than $9 million to counter, the firm is far from the expected 32 million. This is probably the reason why Canonical tries a gamble.
“At the end of 14 days, it is time for us to make our big announcement. From now until the end of the campaign, we set the price to $695 for Ubuntu Edge!”said Canonical on the page of its project.
The main criticism against the Indiegogo campaign now actually remains on uneven levels in terms of price. The first 5,000 investors had the right to offer 600 dollars (450 euros), while the next level immediately went to $830 (620 euros). Canonical had quickly realized the problem, and then added different levels around 750 dollars (560 euros). But it was not enough.
The company explains that the rapid start of the fundraising campaign, which reached 2 million in just 8 hours, attracted the attention of suppliers of components, and allowed the company to negotiate better partnerships. “We can now produce the same device for less than what we had estimated price” added the firm.
Canonical also reassures the backers who have invested more than 695 dollars (520 euros) in their reservation of Ubuntu Edge: if the campaign is completed, they will be refunded the difference. And if the project does not reach $32 million, everyone will be refunded, but the company said that the device will not happen then. “There will be no further price reductions, and we must remember that Ubuntu Edge is a Indiegogo exclusivity. It will not be available outside the country,” concluded the company.
