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Canonical’s Ubuntu Edge crowd-funded smartphone will remain a Shuttleworthian dream, having failed to hit its $32m funding target.

The phone raised $12.8m ahead of today's deadline on the Indiegogo site, less than half the figure stated necessary to fund production of 40,000 units when the campaign started on 23 July.

Canonical chief executive Jane Silber told The Reg in a statement that the Ubuntu Edge “as described in the Indiegogo campaign” will therefore not be produced.

Penguins who pledged money will get a full refund.

Silber did claim a small victory, claiming the effort proved demand for new types of devices from phone-makers.

“We still believe that the campaign has ben successful in that it has given voice to the need for innovation. We hope that this campaign will positively disrupt the way the phone industry brings out new technology and devices,” she said.

The Edge set a record in raising "crowdfunds", beating current record holder the Pebble smartwatch, which sourced $10m on Kickstarter.

Silber said Mark Shuttleworth's company will continue working with industry partners to bring smartphones to market early next year.

The Ubuntu Edge was to have been a hybrid device, running Android as a smartphone but booting to Ubuntu and becoming a Linux PC when docked with monitor and keyboard.

Along with individuals pledging cash was news and market data company Bloomberg, which committed $80k in return for 100 dual-boot Ubuntu-Android phones plus workshops and technical support from Canonical. ®

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