Canonical is heading into the weekend with about $6.6 million (about £4.29m, AU$7.14m) raised for the Ubuntu Edge, not too shabby for the superphone's 5-day old Indiegogo campaign.
We chatted with Mark Shuttleworth, the software company's founder, on the day Edge was announced, discussing this "concept car" device and the potential crowdfunding as a mechanism for spurring innovation. We also dived into converging computing, which the Edge aims to accomplish by having it serve as the "brain" of a PC.
The Edge dual-boots Android and Ubuntu for smartphones, but when users plug into a monitor, Ubuntu for desktops kicks in. The Edge's proposed specs - 4GB of RAM, a multi-core processor and 128GB of storage - are built to take on the task of transforming into a PC manageable and seamless.
Having a shared thread among various devices draws comparisons to Microsoft's Windows 8, but Shuttleworth said there are some important disctinctions.
"I think our story scales a bit more smoothly from phone to tablet to PC," he said, drawing up Ubuntu's strenghts over the Softies' offering.
"I think we have an advantage in that our core OS is much lighter in a way. Because it works on phones it makes it to the PC faster - we're stripping out all the fat on the phone."
Still...
Canonical is clearly trying to draw its own path with Ubuntu and the Edge, but Shuttleworth wasn't without a degree of deference for Microsoft's labor.
"Microsoft has clearly articulated a design vision that's designed to expand across platforms," he said. "As much criticism as the [Windows 8] has taken, I have to agree with them. It recognizes it needs to make a bold foundation. It's very difficult to make bold transitions like that without tickling somebody's nose hairs."
Ubuntu is in its early mobile device days - the Edge won't even be out until May 2014 - but we could be in for an interesting OS war that's for once not Android and iOS.
Speaking of Android, had a gander at Android 4.3 yet?
Maybe he didn't hold it close enough to his mouth...
You know what I hate about iPhone owners? Siri.
I can't stand them for it. I have this notion that they're all sitting around in bars, screaming into their phone that they want to know what the weather is like (have you looked out the window?), or asking if they have emails from Mum.
They're probably not, as I've never actually seen anyone use Siri in real life. Nobody has. We've all heard the double-plunk of it being fired up, only to be followed by an under-the-breath "balls", and then the sad sound of it being switched off.
But, real or imaginary, you know why I don't like these people? Ask Siri - I'm sure she'll tell you (or he, depending on what country you're in). It's because I really want it, and I can't believe more people aren't desperate for a proper voice recognition app in their phone.
Google, not Now
I'm an Android user at the moment – flitting between the consumers' pet, the Galaxy S4 and the enthusiasts' grail (and TechRadar's best phone in the world), the HTC One like some kind of demented tech-addict yoyo. Both ultra-smooth. Both ultra-capable. Both Android devices.
And yet, both lacking one thing: A decent digital assistant.
A couple of years ago, when Ice Cream Sandwich was all the rage, and Jelly Bean was simply a sweet-tasting pie in the sky, we got whisperings that Google was working on an ultra cool digital assistant that would make Siri look rubbish.
That may have been the case at one time, but right now we're still left wandering around trying to get Google Now to do all the things that it's supposed to do - I've yet to hear of anyone getting relevant flight or sports details, despite their best efforts.
Google's attempt isn't meant to be a Siri challenger. It's what Google calls 'intelligent' and is meant to be different. We all know how the cards system works and that it learns from us all. .
And yet, it seems to bring up information that isn't relevant to millions of people (like stocks and shares) whilst making it impossible to carry out the simplest of tasks – like play music.
The impossible dream
OK, so I admit it, Android-fans. I have cheated in the past. I'm not wedded to Android and have enjoyed owning and using every iPhone iteration there has been. And this is where I can tell you that Apple wipes the floor with Android.
There is so much to be said for driving and being able to tell your phone to play a particular song and have it just do the damn thing. Siri is brilliant, and while it's a little limited, it does what it's supposed to do better than anything out there. If you've not tried it properly on your iPhone or iPad, at least to see if you can use it more often, you're an idiot.
And don't tell me you look stupid talking to your phone. That's what they were designed for - it's just you being embarrassed because you're unsure about what might happen.
Google Now is supposed to do something similar, but it fails miserably at searching local content when I just want it to play a song I have stored in my memory card. Forums littered with complaints will attest to my frustration.
Samsung tried to convince us that it had solved the problem when it unveiled the Galaxy S3 last year, announcing S-Voice. You'd think it could wipe out third world debt, the way Samsung sold it. Unfortunately, it can barely do the simplest of tasks. Nailed the industry, this has not. It can't even set a timer properly.
Theoretically, one of Android's strong points is the fact you can customise it so well. If you don't like the gallery, download a replacement version. Hate the keyboard? No problem, tap away on a third party one that you installed.
But this goes to show how so many people are trying to cash into the digital PA and failing miserably – with dozens of options from Skyvi and Sherpa, to Robin and Jeannie, with Iris and others in between. And all are as bad as each other, with Speaktoit Assistant having the highest success rate, albeit with its own flaws, when ordered to do something.
I don't want witty conversation with a piece of code, I just want the flaming thing to play Bonnie Tyler when it's told to.
Maybe this is something that Google will sort out with Key Lime Pie – but I doubt it. Android's motivation is to drive you towards the internet. Which is why Google Now is brilliant at web searching and not so brilliant at simpler tasks.
Until then, keep shouting at Siri. See if I care. (I do.)
I've reviewed dozens of phones and tablets for TechRadar over the years - each time putting them through their paces in the most unbiased, rigorous way possible.
But as well as being a professional, I have a love/hate relationship with tech, and that's what these columns are all about: the passionate howlings of a true fanboy. Tell me why I'm right, wrong or a hopeless idiot in the comments below or by tweeting@techradaror @phillavelle.
After whisperings of such a thing previously, the Galaxy Note 3 could arrive in triplicate according to the latest leak which suggests the company is working on 5.5-, 5.7- and 6-inch varieties.
The current Galaxy Note 2 totes a 5.5-inch screen which some might say is plenty big enough for a phone-tablet-crossover-thing.
On an Indian import and export shipment tracking database, one eagle-eyed phone fan spotted the Note 3 affiliated model number SM-N900 surface with the three screen sizes alongside it.
Big, bigger, biggest
They're tagged as "for R&D purpose" which at the very least means that Samsung is considering each of the sizes.
However, as with the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Samsung Galaxy Mega, the company could quite easily be planning to launch various devices under the Galaxy Note 3 banner.
Talk of the 6-inch dimension has surfaced before, most recently in a Twitter leak. We've also heard word of a 6.3-inch Note 3 and a 5.9-inch Note 3…
The true size of the thing is likely to be revealed to us all in early September at IFA 2013. We'll be there to bring you the over-sized phone news as it breaks.
The Apple iPhone. A product synonymous with the advent of the smartphone and largely credited for shaping the current crop of mobile devices - but is it time for a change?
Back in 2007, the iPhone brand wooed fans with its simplistic concept (who puts the description of the product in the brand name anyway?), but the novelty is wearing thin.
Perhaps Apple is alienating those who are not hardened fans, the people who are put off by the iPhone brand no matter what the handset actually offers.
So could a new name reignite interest by those turned off by the iPhone and open up a whole new market to Apple? Let's find out.
More QuickRadar
Has the mere suggestion of Apple dropping the iPhone brand got your blood boiling? Then get ready to pop with more QuickRadar videos.
IP telephony firm 3CX has updated its cloud-based Mobile Device Manager (MDM) service to give small and midsized businesses (SMBs) greater control over corporate email on Android devices.
The company has equipped Version 6.3 of its MDM with AquaMail, a commercial Android email client that allows administrators to remotely push configurations to users' devices, store and delete attachments and emails (including wiping accounts if an employee leaves), and view logs.
The update also includes integration with 3CX's DroidDesktop Android app, which IT teams can use to free a smartphone's space remotely by dragging files from a desktop window that displays its interface.
Other features
MDM's existing features include mobile device management with the ability to deploy, remotely review and install apps, and monitor malware. It also allows adminstrators to remotely wipe mobile devices by sending an SMS in the absence of an internet connection.
Companies can try a fully-featured version of 3XC's Mobile Device Manager service with a free account that supports up to five devices by signing up here.
