Canonical, the software company behind the Ubuntu Linux open source operating system, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for the development of its flagship smartphone, Ubuntu Edge, which it says will launch early next year.

Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth describes the Ubuntu Edge as the "concept car of smarphones." It will bring together “mobile convenience with desktop power in a single device,” and aims to be a catalyst for mobile innovation as well as hardware and software development.

The Ubuntu Edge will run both the Ubuntu phone operating system, which launched in January 2013, and Google Android. Shuttleworth said that there is a very large enthusiastic community around Android, and providing a standard Android environment is a good way for them to experience the hardware.

However, it will also be a proofing ground for Ubuntu mobile OS, which Canonical is hoping will begin running on more mainstream devices in the near future.

Like Microsoft, Canonical is pushing the idea of desktop and mobile convergence. When plugged into a monitor, the device transforms into a PC with the full Ubuntu desktop and shared access to all the phone’s files.

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