Galery

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The purpose of Canonical is to incorporate technologies that are "on the horizon." The metal frame will provide the superphone with a clean and beautiful design. The screen size will be 4.5 inches which has been preferred as optimal regarding the superphone’s size and the ease of having it on you. Quite a few users want to use advanced technologies without having to comply with the excessive sizes of flagship smartphones operating with Android. On the other hand, many iPhone users want the comfort of the big screen without losing the convenience of a compact phone. Edge will try to combine everything concerning the screen, namely compactness, convenience of the big screen and advanced technologies. Edge will use a safety glass from industrial sapphire, which is several times stronger than the current chemical processed glass known as Gorilla-glass. Only a diamond can scratch the industrial sapphire glass and it promises to end our worries that the screen of the phone may be scratched - a calm coexistence with the keys in our pockets. At present, only Apple is using sapphire glass and only for the iPhone camera. The reason is that the cost of the industrial sapphire glass is 10 times higher than the price of the Gorilla-glass.

In addition to strong scratch resistant glass, Edge should offer image quality with natural colours. Another common problem in modern smartphones which Edge is about to resolve is the screen brightness. We hope that it will offer normal screen brightness in all conditions, especially in direct sunlight.

The superphone hides inside it the latest quad-core processor, at least 4 GB of RAM, 128 GB storage space for data. By comparison, the present top smartphones offer 2 GB of RAM and 64 GB for data storage whereas the mass models offer between 16 GB and 32 GB.

Another anticipated innovation is the battery. Every smartphone user knows that, under heavy use, the device can operate without being charged for no longer than two days. Often, the battery is low within one day. Edge promises to introduce a battery with silicon-anode technology, the capacity of which has not yet been announced. We hope not only that the technology will be new, but also that it will improve the time for autonomous use of the phone.

Today's phones are increasingly replacing low-end cameras, because of the convenience of having only one device on you. The major problem of smartphone cameras is shooting in low light. Edge will feature an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of shooting in low light and having short response time. Users will have a 2-megapixel front camera for conference calls. A double LTE chip will secure high-speed internet connectivity which will ensure the highest possible speeds for 4G data transfer.

Technical specifications:

- Fast multi-core processor and at least 4GB of RAM;
- 128 GB of storage space for applications and multimedia content;
- 4.5-inch HD (1280x720) touchscreen display, protected by sapphire glass (the hardest natural material after diamond);
- 8-megapixel main camera and 2-megapixel front camera capable of shooting in low light and having short response time;
- Fast wireless connectivity around the world with dual-LTE, dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4 and NFC  modules;
- HDMI TV connection and MHL monitor connection;
- A variety of sensors, including GPS, accelerometer, gyroscope, proximity sensor, compass, barometer;
- Stereo speakers for HD audio playback, dual microphone recording and active noise cancellation system;
- Powerful lithium-ion battery with a silicon anode;
- Strong frame with dimensions 64 x 9 x 124 mm.

Software innovation

Edge goes a step further compared with iPhone’ minimalism, which is controlled by only one hardware button. Canonical has removed all buttons and the mobile version of Ubuntu is controlled only by gestures.

Another great innovation will be the use of Egde as a full-featured computer. Connecting the phone to a docking station and to a monitor and a keyboard will turn the device into a super ultraportable computer. The fully functional operating system Ubuntu installed on the phone will make this possible as well. We will be able to use the familiar desktop applications such as e-mail clients, different browsers, office suites, multimedia applications, and many others that are available for Ubuntu. Actually, you will have a computer in your pocket. All this will make Edge the first smartphone combining mobile and desktop operating systems. You will not have to carry around your laptop as your phone will be able to replace it.

However, that is not all! Because of the initial lack of applications for Ubuntu mobile operating system, Edge will come with Android on board. In this way, its users will have everything, they will be able to use Edge without losing the applications for Android which they have purchased from Play Store.

The project