I reported a few months ago of the attempt of a passionate Windows 10 Mobile fan to create his own phone, attempting to fill some of the current hardware gap in this ecosystem. Having to go through Indiegogo and crown funding was never his primary aim, but a last resort, and unsurprisingly the method has failed in a big way. Seems like even Windows 10 Mobile fans don't want to pay upfront for a low-to-mid-range phone, however well intentioned it might be.

The campaign ended with just 103 backers and less than $25,000 funded. Here again is the Indiegogo video for your interest, from the campaign page.

It occurs to me, of course, that the $1.1 million is akin to the smallest of small change in Microsoft's wallet - this is a few seconds operating expenses and that the likes of Satya Nadella, Panos Panay (etc.) could raise a million dollars just by looking down the sides of their sofas. So why not step in and give Greg Murphy and the folks at Wharton Brooks a chance?

As I said at the start of April:

I have a horrible feeling that this project isn't going to get (anywhere near) funded. It does show hard it is to get a smartphone off the ground - for all the joking on podcasts about a 'Steve Litchfield phone' (or whatever), out in the real world, even with today's chipsets, it takes millions of dollars to get enough hardware made to begin to start selling it. While I wish Greg well, above, there's simply no way one person can initiate a project of this size without a seriously cool USP and some serious investors.