Canonical: Last change to Ubuntu Edge phone price – we promise

Canonical has stabilised pricing for its proposed Ubuntu phone, Edge, at $695 to be paid by eager Penguins into an Indiegogo funding round.

It has also landed a corporate patron, Bloomberg, which pledged $80,000 to the effort. Only financial backers of this funding round will get a phone – the actual mass-manufactured job won't be available to buy at launch.

Mark Shuttleworth's company said today that price had been permanently fixed at $695 a pop until the end of the current funding drive on 21 August. It hopes to raise $32m in the drive. The project has so far raised $8.709m.

The company sited "major industry backing" as the reason for the change.

Pricing for the Edge, announced on 23 July, had started at $600 for the first 5,000 people pledging cash, with a further nine tiers of prices based on different pledge amounts. Backers who give $10k are allowed into the VIP area with Mark at the unveiling event.

Canonical promised: "No limited quantities, no more price changes. You wanted a more affordable Edge, and now you've got it." There will be no more price cuts, however.

In return for its $80k, Bloomberg is getting 100 dual-boot Ubuntu-Android phones plus workshops and technical support from Canonical.

Justin Erenkrantz, head of web architecture in the Bloomberg chief technology officer's office and also a former president of the Apache Software Foundation, said in a canned statement:

Ubuntu's goal to offer a single-device solution for enterprise convergence and mobility is an exciting prospect and one that complements our vision for open development on the mobile platform.

If the drive hits the $32m target, phones will be manufactured and then delivered in May 2014. ®