Hacker News Reader

Comment by Zigurd | Hacker News Reader

I would like to like this, but there are some red flags: It seems like they are engineering their own high-end hardware. Are there really no off-the-shelf platforms for this? No ODMs from which they could order 10k units, including the GPU driver license?

Supposing they could get 10k units for $500 each, that means they could ask for $1M or $2m and be far more certain of hitting their goal. Why not do that?

It seems as if they are trying to fund development of Ubuntu for phones on the back of this hardware project. Or, unlike Jolla and Tizen and Firefox OS they lack launch partners, so they are doing a "Microsoft Surface." Maybe the $900M write-down of Surface hardware made them think $32M is a doddle.

Ubuntu should run nicely on Surface RT hardware... They could make an offer.

View on HN

This was my thinking. The whole time through that video I was wondering why they don't just buy a couple thousand Nexus 4s to load up with their custom build and re-sell. If they're planning to put Ubuntu on other manufacturers hardware, the official Google supported phone sounds like a pretty good place to start, and the speed at which those phones sell would be a great way to test the interest in their new platform. Hell, I'd buy it even at a $100 markup ($400), I'd buy it with little hesitation just to get some hands on time with the OS.

Impulse buying a $600 handset that won't arrive for a year (if they hit deadlines, which doesn't happen), is asking for far too much trust.

Putting it on Surface RT hardware would be a dream. I don't like Unity for my desktop, but if I was looking for a 10" tablet I'd be all over it.

Reselling someone else's developer phone from last year isn't exactly the marketing message we're going for. Edge is meant to be a premium product, not just another "me too".

Unrelated: if you simply want to test drive Ubuntu for Phones, it's already been ported to 40+ platforms.

I think everyone understands what Canonical is trying to do. They just question whether it's a good idea. It's very difficult to make the best phone on the first try. It adds a lot of project risk to Ubuntu for mobile devices to try.

On top of that, if you don't have OEM launch partners for phones, maybe you shouldn't be doing phones. If the carriers really want you, they will make the channel commitments that the OEMs need to green-light a phone.

> if you simply want to test drive Ubuntu for Phones, it's already been ported to 40+ platforms

Isn't it just for OEMs? Or am I missing something?

All that I can find at the moment is a "developer preview" which I tried on my Nexus 7 not long ago and found it to be definitely not ready for prime time. Presumably, you would be releasing a consumer ready version of the OS with these Nexus 4s (or whatever phone from a proven manufacturer). I'm reluctant to flash a "developer preview" on my every day phone.

> Are there really no off-the-shelf platforms for this?

From what I gather, it seems the entire purpose of this 'edge' project is a hardware one, not a software one. They're trying to gather the 'latest and greatest' hardware and make a phone out of it, which would by definition, not be found in an existing handset. I'm sure they'll try to push for their mobile os regardless of whether this fails or not, as it seems almost orthogonal to their mobile os efforts. Once they evaluate how feasible this 'cutting edge' handset idea is, I'm sure they'll continue to find devices to slap ubuntu touch on. But if they've had this 'premium phone' idea kicking around for a while, why not? This isn't an either/or scenario.

It will be interesting to find out how many real hardware people have had input on this. As an example, the battery is going to be "silicon-anode" - I didn't even know that was a thing, and Google only turns up weeks/months old articles on how researchers are trying to make them out of rice. Yet they're going to stick it in a phone.

If each hardware choice has been made like that, there's a huge risk with the project. If the battery doesn't come up to snuff mAh-wise, how long will that 4G RAM / beautiful screen / 128Gb SSD actually last day-to-day, including phone calls?

There doesn't really seem to be much information about the people doing the hardware, and why they think they can stuff so much new stuff into a small package in the space of a few months.

Also, is the battery removable? I won't be getting one (married to Verizon at this point) but a non-removable battery would be a second deal breaker for me.

There appears to be a company working on silicon-anode batteries: http://www.nexeon.co.uk/about/an-introduction-to-nexeon/

They claim to have a prototype factory producing 500 phones worth of battery material per day. Not the scale Samsung needs but enough for a one off phone run.

Also because they want a phone that is also suitable to be someones main computing device. So if they can get smartphone hardware makers a reason to push into higher spec'ed devices by demonstrating a market and providing a blueprint, that'd be a big win for them as it creates a bigger need for Ubuntu vs. "just" Android or alternatives.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com