LG phone screen offers 'best detail'

21 August 2013 Last updated at 07:08 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

LG has announced what it says is the highest resolution smartphone screen to date.

The 5.5in (14cm) component features 538 pixels per inch and supports 2560 by 1440 pixel video playback.

That is higher than the 1080p high definition format, but less than 4K Ultra HD.

LG said the phone screen was also the slimmest available. However, analysts suggested consumers might struggle to appreciate the difference.

The South Korean firm's display division was the fourth biggest maker of screens used in phones and tablets in 2012 based on revenue, according to research firm NPD DisplaySearch.

Samsung sold the most, followed by Japan Display and Sharp.

LG said its latest technology would offer "more lifelike and crisp images" than what was already available on the market.

"The new Quad HD panel will enable users to enjoy a full view of PC-version web pages at a single glance without image distortion," it said.

"Also, even when enlarging the screen, users will be able to enjoy undistorted and sharper text."

Although the firm said it had taken steps to reduce power consumption, one expert suggested using the tech would take its toll on a phone's battery.

"There's only so much detail that a human eye can pick up in a 5.5in screen regardless of how many pixels you manage to cram into it," said Windsor Holden, from the tech consultants Juniper Research.

"Beyond a certain point there is a distinct law of diminishing returns. There's also the fact that the more pixels you have, the more work your graphics processor has to do.

"That has an impact on battery life, which is already being assaulted by a host of other applications throughout the day."

When the HTC J Butterfly and Oppo Find 5 handsets launched last year - the first to feature 5in screens offering 440ppi and "full HD 1080p" - reviewers suggest they did offer a noticeable improvement on what had come before.

However, tech research firm IHS Electronics & Media agreed that screen resolution might become less of a distinguishing factor in the future.

"LG Display will be targeting this screen at the premium market, so showing that it is pushing the technology is important to its business," said analyst Daniel Gleeson.

"But I think we're hitting the point at which consumers are going to focus on other issues when they decide which device to buy because so many handsets already feature a very high resolution."

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Facebook wants billions more online

21 August 2013 Last updated at 08:04 ET By Dave Lee Technology reporter, BBC News

An initiative to bring internet access to the "next five billion" people has been launched by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

The social network has teamed up with Ericsson, MediaTek, Nokia, Opera, Qualcomm and Samsung, among others, to lower the cost of mobile data.

The group said it wanted to help those in developing countries to become part of the internet community.

But one expert said those nations had "other priorities" to deal with first.

Mr Zuckerberg said the goal was to make "internet access available to those who cannot currently afford it".

The group's statement said only 2.7 billion people - just over one-third of the world's population - had access to the internet. Adoption was growing by less than 9% a year, which was not fast enough.

Central to the group's plans is to be more "data efficient" by researching ways to use less data to load websites or load apps.

The statement said: "Potential projects include developing data compression tools, enhancing network capabilities to more efficiently handle data, building systems to cache data efficiently and creating frameworks for apps to reduce data usage."

Dr Michael Jennings, chair of African studies at Soas, University of London, said he welcomed the firms' efforts, but that priority must be given to other pressing needs such as providing power to keep devices up and running.

"It's something of a misnomer that the five billion aren't connected," he told the BBC.

"Most people have made a call or used a mobile phone, and the success of things like mobile money service M-Pesa has shown just how many people are using these things."

Continue reading the main story

Last mile connectivity has been a problem that has been battled in Africa for a long long time"

End Quote Tom Jackson HumanIPO

'Final frontier'

Tom Jackson, managing editor of African technology news site HumanIPO, said interest in the area was encouraging but that the pledge lacked important specifics.

"In terms of being able to reach people, they've never actually said how," he told the BBC.

"Last mile connectivity has been a problem that has been battled in Africa for a long long time."

Earlier this month, analyst Gartner said smartphones outsold "feature" phones for the first time, but many people in the developing world still rely on slow connections and very basic handsets.

Other companies are stepping up their interest in this area, all eager to position themselves as a major player in a market that analysts predict could be highly lucrative as technology adoption increases.

"Africa is almost like the final frontier these days," said Mr Jackson, "the final place now where there's penetration to be increased and there's money to be made."

Google recently launched Project Loon - balloons that will beam the internet from near-space. Fifty people are currently testing the technology, which gives speeds equivalent to 3G, in New Zealand.

If successful, it would be likely to provide a cheaper alternative to satellite connections, currently one of the main ways people in the developing world connect to the web.

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UK ponders ban on 'car fob' mobiles

21 August 2013 Last updated at 12:24 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

UK officials are considering banning the sale of small mobile phones designed to resemble car key fobs.

A government spokesman told the BBC that it was discussing the issue with the National Trading Standards Board and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

In the meantime the NTSB has asked retailers to stop selling the products

The Times had reported some of the Chinese-made products were being advertised with prisoners in mind - having a mobile in jail is an offence.

The devices, in some cases marketed as the "world's smallest mobiles", are available from mainstream retail websites including eBay and Amazon.

They are designed to resemble the fobs used to transmit a signal to unlock vehicle doors, and feature logos from brands including BMW, Volkswagen, Bentley, Audi and Porsche.

A spokesman for the UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said it believed the devices were being made without its members' permission.

The product description of one device sold via Amazon states that it features "very very very low metal contact badges [which] can be removed due to metal content alarm", while another says the fob is "easily concealable".

The Times said it had spotted one advertised elsewhere alongside a cartoon of a prisoner behind bars.

Confiscated phones

A prison service spokesman said it was already making efforts to detect the devices.

"A range of techniques - including body orifice security scanners and high-sensitivity metal detectors - has seen the [overall] number of recorded seizures increase," he said.

"We're now working closely with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and Trading Standards to remove these small mobiles from sale in the UK, as well as legislating to block phone signals in prisons."

More than 7,000 phones and Sim cards were confiscated in prisons in England and Wales last year.

The POA - a prison officers' trade union - confirmed its members were also concerned the gadgets could make things worse.

"The latest key fob mobile phone has the potential to increase the number of mobiles in prisons simply by the nature of the design and size.

"This will lead to further problems in prisons and whilst we recognise the work of the Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service in addressing this issue, more needs to be done.

"The POA believe all prisons should have blockers installed and prisoners found in possession of a mobile phone should be prosecuted."

Police warning

A spokesman from Soca said the police unit had asked car makers to take a stand over the issue.

"By issuing alerts that warn of criminal dangers and threats, Soca seeks to arm specific organisations and sectors with information and advice they can use to protect themselves and the public," explained a spokesman.

"In this case Soca assisted the prison service and the National Trading Standards e-Crime Centre by issuing an alert to car manufacturers and online retailers earlier this year to make them aware of the issue so they can consider taking copyright infringement action against those selling these phones."

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders told the BBC it planned to co-operate with the authorities.

"We are aware of the existence of these mini-mobile phones and that a number of them bear resemblance to car keys bearing manufacturer logos," said a spokesman.

"We agree that these devices are potentially damaging and will work with Soca on this matter."

The NTSB e-crime centre said it was urging online retailers to stop selling the fobs, and members of the public not to buy them.

"There is a strong possibility that these products were not put through the stringent safety testing UK products go through, which means that there is a chance they are electrically unsafe meaning they could cause fires and injure consumers through electrocution," it said.

Amazon and eBay were unable to provide comment when asked.

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Manning given 35 years for leaks

21 August 2013 Last updated at 17:40 ET

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The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan at Fort Meade: ''The prosecution will be disappointed that the sentence is relatively low''

The US soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website Wikileaks has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.

Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage.

In a statement read by his lawyer after the sentencing, Pte Manning said he had acted "out of love for our country".

His supporters have called on President Barack Obama to pardon the soldier or commute his sentence to time served.

Parole in seven?

Continue reading the main story

In court

Tom Geoghegan BBC News, Fort Meade

---

After 10 weeks of legal argument, the sentencing was over in minutes. Judge Col Denise Lind sat in front of the Stars and Stripes and the US Army flag as she sentenced Pte Manning to 35 years in prison.

The 25-year-old defendant, in full military uniform, cut a diminutive, bespectacled figure as he sat in court, tapping his feet and rearranging his papers. But as he stood to hear her words he showed little emotion. And his aunt, Debra van Alstyne, also seemed impassive behind him.

The hush was broken as he was led away. His supporters, dressed in black T-shirts bearing the word "truth", ignored earlier warnings by court officials and the judge to remain calm. Shouts of "We'll be waiting for you, Bradley" and "Thank you, Bradley, we love you" rang out.

Pte Manning will receive a credit against his sentence of about three and a half years, including time he has already served in jail and 112 days in recompense for the harsh conditions of his initial confinement.

His defence lawyer David Coombs said Pte Manning would first be eligible for parole in about seven years.

Prosecutors had asked for a 60-year sentence in order to send a message to future potential leakers, and Wikileaks called the 35-year sentence a "significant strategic victory".

Military prosecutors did not immediately comment.

In addition to the prison sentence, likely to be served at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Judge Col Denise Lind sentenced Pte Manning to be demoted to private and dishonourably discharged from the US Army, and to forfeit his pay.

While stationed in Iraq in 2010, the junior intelligence analyst passed hundreds of thousands of battlefield reports and diplomatic cables to Wikileaks, the pro-transparency group headed by Julian Assange.

'End Brad's suffering'

Pte Manning has said he leaked the secret files in the hopes of sparking a public debate about US foreign policy and the military.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mr Coombs, flanked by Manning supporters, said he would ask President Obama to pardon Pte Manning.

"The time to end Brad's suffering is now," he said.

Mr Coombs read a statement from Pte Manning that will be included in the request.

"The decisions I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world we live in," Pte Manning said, according to Mr Coombs.

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Kevin Fox, Bradley Manning's uncle: ''He's a hero''

"When I chose to disclose classified information... I did so out of love for our country and a sense of duty for others. If you deny my request for a pardon I will serve my time knowing that sometimes you have to pay a heavy price to live in a free society."

Mr Coombs also read a statement from the soldier's family, which said they were "saddened and disappointed" by the sentence.

For his own part, the lawyer said he was in tears after the sentence was handed down but that Pte Manning had told him: "I know you did your best. It's going to be OK."

When asked about the pardon request, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was "not going to get ahead" of the process.

The soldier's uncle, Kevin Fox, of Haverfordwest, Wales, said the family had expected a harsher sentence.

"In my honest opinion, he shouldn't have been given any time at all," Mr Fox told the BBC. "In my eyes he is a hero."

Continue reading the main story

The charges

Guilty: Seven out of eight espionage charges, five theft charges, two computer fraud charges, five military counts of violating a lawful general regulation, one of wanton publication of intelligence on the internet

Not guilty: Aiding the enemy, unauthorised possession of information relating to national defence

The verdict and sentence will be reviewed, and possibly reduced, by a military district commander and will be automatically reviewed by the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.

Pte Manning may also petition the court for lenience during the appeals process.

Isolated deployment

The young soldier grew up in Oklahoma and in Wales, where his mother is from, and reportedly joined the US Army to help pay for college.

Continue reading the main story

Wikileaks

• Website with a reputation for publishing sensitive material
• Run by Julian Assange, an Australian with a background in computer network hacking
• Released 77,000 secret US records of US military incidents about the war in Afghanistan and 400,000 similar documents on Iraq
• Also posted video showing US helicopter killing 12 people - including two journalists - in Baghdad in 2007
• Other controversial postings include screenshots of the e-mail inbox and address book of US vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin

As an intelligence analyst, he had access to a large amount of very sensitive information, despite his junior rank.

He deployed to Iraq in 2009 and soon became disillusioned with the war, his defence lawyer has said.

A military psychiatrist testified that Pte Manning had struggled with his gender identity and wanted to become a woman at the time of the leak.

Navy Capt David Moulton testified that Pte Manning had felt abandoned by friends and family and that his relationship with his boyfriend had hit a rough patch.

According to evidence presented by the defence, military supervisors ignored Pte Manning's erratic behaviour, which included trying to grab a gun during a counselling session.

'In a cage'

His lawyers said such actions had shown that Pte Manning had not been fit for duty overseas.

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Lead defence lawyer David Coombs says Manning's treatment was "specifically designed to break his spirit"

Defence lawyers said Pte Manning was treated unfairly in solitary confinement in Quantico, Virginia and in a cell at Camp Arifjan, a US Army installation in Kuwait.

Pte Manning told the court he remembered thinking: "I'm going to die, I'm stuck inside this cage."

The leaks enabled Wikileaks to publish sensitive messages between US diplomats and records of military incidents in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as a cockpit video showing an Apache helicopter killing 12 people in the Iraqi capital in 2007.

The revelations caused significant embarrassment to the US government, and its officials have said the disclosures damaged America's relations with its allies and disrupted the war effort in Afghanistan.

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HP warns revenue growth 'unlikely'

21 August 2013 Last updated at 21:28 ET

Meg Whitman, the chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, has warned that the firm is "unlikely" to see revenue growth next year.

Her comments came as the firm reported a 8% decline in revenue for the quarter ending 31 July, from a year ago.

HP has struggled amid falling global PC sales and rising competition. It was displaced by China's Lenovo as the world's top PC maker last year.

The growth warning saw HP shares fall nearly 6% in after-hours trading.

"What has changed about 2014's outlook is a couple of things - Enterprise Group's performance especially during the quarter," Ms Whitman told analysts during a conference call after the results.

"Weak execution has amplified the market challenges we know exist. It's unlikely... that we'll see the growth in 2014 that I had hoped," she added.

HP reported a net profit of $1.4bn (£890m) for the quarter, reversing a loss of $8.9bn during the same period last year.

The massive loss last year occurred as the firm wrote down the value of some assets, mostly related to its purchase of Electronic Data Systems, which it bought in 2008.

Continue reading the main story

My read was that fiscal 2014 growth was a stretch goal rather than a baseline assumption"

End Quote Shebly Seyrafi FBN Securities

'More challenging'

Ms Whitman, who took charge of the firm in late 2011, had previously said that it was possible for the company to see its revenues grow next year.

However, global PC sales have been declining, as customers continue to switch to smartphones and tablet computers.

Worldwide PC shipments have now fallen for five quarters in a row, making it the "longest duration of decline" in history, according to research firm Gartner.

That has hurt the fortunes of firms such as HP, which have struggled to maintain their growth rates.

"My read was that fiscal 2014 growth was a stretch goal rather than a baseline assumption," said Shebly Seyrafi, an analyst at FBN Securities.

"That has become more challenging."

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Smartwatch to offer built-in camera

22 August 2013 Last updated at 00:45 ET By Leo Kelion Technology reporter

Omate Truesmart - a smartwatch with a built-in five megapixel camera - is set to go into production after hitting its crowdfunding target.

The device raised more than $100,000 (£63,760) of pledges on fundraising site Kickstarter, guaranteeing it will get the cash.

Another watch, Pebble, secured a record $10.2m via the funding site last year.

Omate's achievement comes ahead of the much-anticipated launch of a smartwatch from Samsung.

The South Korean firm has confirmed it is working on the product and has filed patents for possible designs.

It has not announced when it will unveil the product, but its next scheduled event is at Berlin's Ifa consumer tech show in a fortnight's time.

Working prototypes

Unlike many of the smartwatches already on the market, Omate says the Truesmart can be fitted with a micro-Sim card to make use of its 3G chip.

This will allow it to make voice calls and send social media messages without having to be paired with a smartphone or tablet - although that is also an option.

Other details announced by New York-based team include:

• Google's Android 4.2.2 operating system will power it, allowing it to run apps including fitness activity trackers
• The touchscreen will be 1.5in (3.9cm)
• It will be water-resistant, allowing it to be worn while swimming, but not if diving
• It will offer GPS location support
• It can be operated via gesture controls
• Its 4 gigabytes of internal storage can be boosted by up to an additional 32GB using a microSD card

One of Omate's three co-founders told the BBC that the project had been in development for one-and-a-half years and that they already had a factory in Shenzhen, China ready to go into production.

"We already have working prototypes, but not the final design," said Nick Yap.

"Most of the functions are there but we still need to add voice and gesture controls.

"There will be a swipe-based touch function and another when you move, like Nintendo's Wii games control. For example you will be able to flick your wrist to show the clock."

He added that his company planned to make samples of the finished product next month and to ship the first watches to customers in October.

The planned retail price is $299 (£190)

Luxury smartwatch

Omate is not the only new firm teasing a camera-equipped smartwatch.

Earlier this month Geneva-based Hyetis announced plans for Crossbow - a product with a 41 megapixel camera in its side.

The developer said that it intended the device to be able to interact with iOS, Android and Windows 8 handsets and added it would cost $1,200.

It said that it intended to ship the product by the end of the year, although one tech journalist has suggested that may be an over-ambitious target.

"This strikes me as a start-up with a big idea," wrote Mike Elgan.

"I doubt they'll ship this year, and it's possible they may never ship. Still, it's an ambitious effort.

Tech consultancy Gartner predicts the global wearable computing market could be worth $10bn by 2016.

However, one of its analysts had doubts about the products being proposed by Omate and Hyetis.

"The whole point about the camera in Google Glass [eyewear] is that you can take a photo just by looking at somebody," said Carolina Milanesi.

"With these watches you'd have to position your hand and extend your arm to take a picture. The idea of including a lens seems like a gimmick and not something that people would want to use in that kind of way.

"But the idea of letting them be used underwater is a big thing because fitness trackers like the Nike Fuelband and the Jawbone Up can't currently go in the swimming pool."

Sell outs?

Pebble - whose smartwatch features an e-paper display to reduce power-use, but no camera - has been the most successful start-up of its kind so far.

The California-based firm revealed in July that it had received about 275,000 pre-orders for its device. The $150 product has since gone on sale at Best Buy stores in the US.

But Ms Milanesi said Gartner expected that it would be more established firms that would ultimately triumph in the sector.

"Pebble has helped kick off the whole idea, but I think for a lot of these companies it's about being bought out eventually or at least selling their assets.

"I think consumers are really looking for something from the key players - such as Samsung, Google and Apple - or maybe one of the established brands that already make watches."

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Court halted NSA email surveillance

22 August 2013 Last updated at 01:17 ET

A National Security Agency surveillance system illegally gathered up to 56,000 personal emails by Americans annually, declassified court documents show.

Officials revealed that a judge in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court ruled the programme illegal in 2011.

The communications were between people with no links to terror suspects.

The US government faces mounting criticism over its surveillance operations after the leaks of US whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

The court, whose rulings are normally kept secret, said the NSA may have violated US law for collecting as many as 56,000 emails on an annual basis between 2008 and 2011.

But intelligence officials speaking to reporters anonymously say the scooping of emails was unintentional, blaming it on a technological problem.

The NSA was unable to separate out emails between Americans with no direct connection to terrorism, so the agency was collecting tens of thousands of "wholly domestic communications" every year, the court documents said.

In the ruling, Judge John Bates criticised the NSA over the breach of privacy, marking it as "the third instance in less than three years in which the government has disclosed a substantial misrepresentation regarding the scope of a major collection programme".

The court found that the data gathering violated the Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution, prohibiting "unreasonable searches and seizures".

The court's opinions, which are usually kept secret, were revealed by the government in response to a Freedom of Information request.

Government officials said that the court rulings had been declassified to show that eavesdropping programmes at fault had been found and fixed, highlighting its oversight measures.

The scope of the NSA's massive surveillance programme, which sweeps up internet traffic and phone records, was exposed in June in leaks to media by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama promised to be more transparent about US spying programmes, with "appropriate reforms" to guarantee greater oversight.

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League of Legends passwords hacked

By Amelia Butterly
Newsbeat reporter

US players of the League of Legends video game have had personal details including credit card details, email addresses and usernames hacked.

Developers Riot Games confirmed in a statement on their blog that their records had been accessed.

"We're really sorry to share that a portion of North American account information was compromised," it said.

Continue reading the main story

We're sincerely sorry about this situation. We apologize for the inconvenience and will continue to focus on account security going forward

Riot Games

"Usernames, email addresses, salted password hashes, and some first and last names were accessed."

Although the passwords had been protected, the company advised that any gamers with "easily guessable passwords" were vulnerable to account theft.

Riot Games is also looking into 120,000 transaction records from 2011 that may have been hacked to find out if users' credit card details have been leaked.

"Our investigation is ongoing and we will take all necessary steps to protect players," the company said.

Riot Games campaigned for the game to be recognised as a professional sport

The company is requesting that US users update their passwords and said they were in the process of introducing new security measures.

"We're sincerely sorry about this situation," the firm added.

"We apologize for the inconvenience and will continue to focus on account security going forward."

Continue reading the main story

We're really sorry to share that a portion of our North American account information was recently compromise

Riot Games

Last month the US issued League of Legends players with athlete visas, effectively recognising the video game as a professional sport.

Players were given P-1 visas, intended for "individual athletes".

The move was described as "groundbreaking" for eSports, a growing community of professional gamers.

More than 40 million people worldwide play League of Legends.

The biggest tournaments are attended by tens of thousands of fans and receive coverage on dedicated TV channels.

Winners of the League of Legends Season 3 World Championship starting in September will win $1 million (£662,000) in prize money.

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China web users arrested over posts

22 August 2013 Last updated at 07:22 ET

Four people have been arrested in China over posts made on Twitter-like website Sina Weibo, state media has reported.

The users are said to have "incited dissatisfaction with the government" by spreading rumours about a "hero" used in various propaganda posters.

Prosecutors said the group had been profiting from the activity.

The arrests come at a time when the Chinese authorities are seeking to reassert strict rules around public discourse.

"On one hand they know how popular this platform is, but they are also aware it can be a disruptive force," said BBCChinese.com editor Zhuang Chen.

"This is one of the main campaigns that the Chinese public security ministry is carrying out - to send out a clear message."

The arrested users were said to have spread rumours about Lei Feng, a deceased soldier who is often used as an example of the model Chinese citizen, a Communist Party devotee.

"Information that seriously harmed the image of Lei Feng was rapidly transmitted across the internet," the People's Daily reported, "and Lei Feng's glorious image was quickly brought into question."

Power users

With almost 300 million users in the country, the social network is booming - even attracting famous names from outside of the country.

The likes of Robert Downey Jr, Paris Hilton and basketball star Kobe Bryant all have a presence on the site - although they are mostly there for marketing purposes rather than the more general discussion often found on Twitter.

Earlier this month, the government brought together some of Sina Weibo's most popular users to discuss their use of the platform.

The meeting, held at the headquarters of China's state TV network, set out seven key "minimums" for behaviour.

They included vaguely set standards for upholding the national interest, keeping with socialist values and maintaining public order.

Technology blog TechInAsia.com noted that the seven minimums appeared to be widely supported by the Sina Weibo community, but that some of the comments supporting them may have been posted by paid "opinion managers".

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Ubuntu Edge campaign misses target

22 August 2013 Last updated at 11:13 ET

The 30-day crowdfunding campaign to raise $32m (£20.5m) for the Ubuntu Edge smartphone has failed.

Developer Canonical raised almost $13m from 27,488 funders, surpassing the previous crowdfunding record of more than $10m set by Pebble smartwatches' Kickstarter campaign.

It had wanted to manufacture 40,000 handsets with its free operating system for qualifying backers by next May.

But all pledges will now be returned after it failed to reach its target.

"We realised that it is very difficult to crowdfund for both the development and the production costs together," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth told the BBC.

"That's why the costs have escalated here. That's a new insight," he added.

Mr Shuttleworth said that in a future campaign Canonical would "try to find a different source for the development costs and have that secured" before launching a crowdfunding campaign to manufacture the handsets.

Chose 'fixed funding'

Programs on the proposed smartphone would have looked like standard mobile apps when the handset was being used as a standalone device.

But they would have changed their user interfaces to that of a desktop application when the phone was docked with a monitor, Canonical had said.

In addition, the operating system could support apps written in the HTML5 web language, albeit at slower speeds.

The Ubuntu Edge campaign raised nearly $3.4m in the first 24 hours.

But the pace of fundraising slowed after that.

The campaign had offered the first 5,000 backers the chance to buy one of the new smartphones for $600. After that, contributors would have had to pay $830 for their smartphone.

Later in the campaign, Canonical reportedly introduced additional pricing tiers - of $625, $675, $695 and $725.

In an interview with the BBC last week, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said many lessons had been learned over the course of the campaign, and he would rethink the strategy of offering a discounted price to early funders.

Canonical chose to use Indiegogo's "fixed funding" campaign, under the terms of which all the money pledged must be returned if the campaign does not reach its funding goal.

The company could have selected a "flexible funding" campaign and kept most of the funds, after paying a higher percentage to Indiegogo for missing the target.

Canonical planned to make money by charging for support and training for Ubuntu and taking a share of online sales from handset makers who adopted its software.

Indiegogo's current funding record of $1,665,380 was set by Scandu Scout - a scheme to build a Star Trek-style Tricorder medical scanning device.

Other independent fundraising campaigns have attracted larger sums, such as Cloud Imperium Games, which has gathered more than $15m by soliciting contributions directly on its website. It raised more than $2m in a separate campaign on Kickstarter.

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