ubuntu-phone team mailing list archive

[Omar B. <estelar57@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Yes. Shuttleworth has even said that the entire purpose of this campaign is to judge if there's a market for super high end phones. Adding a mid range phone just to make this campaign succeed does not measure the market appeal of the superphones, and it doesn't make manufacturing those superphones any more affordable (quantity is important, if you can't meet the quantity, the price is prohibitive).
That's pretty absurd.
If he just wanted to see if there's a market for super high end phones he would just had looked at the HTC ONE numbers. They aren't selling that well and is why they also released a mini/lower spec.
The goal was more showing the world a good enough phone that can even be used as a substitute for your PC. Apart from the sapphire screen, that's the other real killer/trademark feature.
For that this phone is already overkill and better than the computer and laptop In which I use ubuntu on.
All the hardware needed for convergence will be available one way or another at more affordable prices. So this year's "high-end" is just next year's mid-end and so on.
So, do they really need to keep it out of the reach of the majority of the "crowd" that conforms a crowdfunding campaign?
Was this designed to become vaporware?
Do they want to start being known as a company that starts things just to fail? What will they fail at next?
Why back a company, specially in a crowdsourcing campaign that will not do everything in its power and just let it die? If they don't show any effort then they just not kill this, but the trust of everyone (the backers, the critics, the media, etc.).
If they fail, they fail, but should never be without a real spirit to fight. Right now they show that they're sleeping or never actually cared.

Its sad enough to see yet another failure and see articles like this starting to pop all over:http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/78644.html

>This needs to succeed, but adding a lower end phone is neither helpful nor an option. The manufacturing costs would be absurd.
Would like more data to back this claim that the costs for this particular device would be absurd or skyrocket into oblivion.
As far as I can see lowering the INTERNAL specs make things cheaper, not more expensive.  Small Chinese companies do it all the time :http://www.cnx-software.com/2013/08/05/minix-neo-x7mini-vs-neo-x7-android-media-players-comparison/
The most costly components in the EDGE might be the external parts: very new Sapphire screen + one piece metal body, so that doesn't need to change. The same 40k sapphire screens / metal body goal can be met either way.
On the internal parts you can be more flexible and that's where you can cut some non critical stuff.
If this is not possible, then at least show us the numbers. At this rate Is going to die anyway so showing us the numbers will at least be a sign of commitment / respect from their part to all that have made a commitment to them.
Peace.