Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth has claimed that the first Ubuntu Touch-based smartphones will sell for around $200 to $400 when they launch later this year, putting them in the upper reaches of the mid-range market.
Canonical's recent announcement that it had partnered with two manufacturers to build Ubuntu Touch-based smartphones was welcomed by fans, but thin on details. Particularly absent from the company's press release were specifications for the first devices to come from either company, and how they would compare to the ultra-high-end Ubuntu Edge smartphone which so dramatically failed in its bid to raise $32 million in pre-orders via crowd-funding site Indiegogo.
Now, we have at least a hint of where the devices will sit - and it's nowhere near the top-end Ubuntu Edge concept. Speaking at the CeBIT event in Hanover this week, as reported by The Register, Shuttleworth claimed that the first Ubuntu Touch handsets would sell for around $200 to $400 a piece - putting them closer to the budget-friendly Motorola Moto G in specifications than the Ubuntu Edge's promised top-end CPU and 8GB of RAM.
Shuttleworth indicated that his company still planned to aim for the high-end, stating that 'we want people who are looking for a very sharp, beautiful experience,' but at the prices he is quoting it seems that the initial Ubuntu Touch experience will be a distinctly mid-range affair.
Thus far, Canonical has not indicated whether the handsets due later this year will support Ubuntu Touch's main feature: the ability to dock with a monitor, keyboard and mouse in order to transform from a smartphone into a fully-fledged ARM-powered Ubuntu Linux desktop.
Canonical's recent announcement that it had partnered with two manufacturers to build Ubuntu Touch-based smartphones was welcomed by fans, but thin on details. Particularly absent from the company's press release were specifications for the first devices to come from either company, and how they would compare to the ultra-high-end Ubuntu Edge smartphone which so dramatically failed in its bid to raise $32 million in pre-orders via crowd-funding site Indiegogo.
Now, we have at least a hint of where the devices will sit - and it's nowhere near the top-end Ubuntu Edge concept. Speaking at the CeBIT event in Hanover this week, as reported by The Register, Shuttleworth claimed that the first Ubuntu Touch handsets would sell for around $200 to $400 a piece - putting them closer to the budget-friendly Motorola Moto G in specifications than the Ubuntu Edge's promised top-end CPU and 8GB of RAM.
Shuttleworth indicated that his company still planned to aim for the high-end, stating that 'we want people who are looking for a very sharp, beautiful experience,' but at the prices he is quoting it seems that the initial Ubuntu Touch experience will be a distinctly mid-range affair.
Thus far, Canonical has not indicated whether the handsets due later this year will support Ubuntu Touch's main feature: the ability to dock with a monitor, keyboard and mouse in order to transform from a smartphone into a fully-fledged ARM-powered Ubuntu Linux desktop.
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