Ubuntu for Smartphones Revealed

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Ubuntu for Smartphones Revealed

Post by Dan @ 11:15am 03/01/13 | 9 Comments

The expected smartphone-native version of the popular Ubuntu operating system has been revealed by Canonical, with an early version of the mobile-focused Linux distro demonstrated running on a Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone, replacing the device's native Android OS.

Absent the traditional smartphone home button, Ubunutu instead uses various swipe guestures to for application navigation.

Your phone is more immersive, the screen is less cluttered, and you flow naturally from app to app with edge magic. The phone becomes a full PC and thin client when docked. Ubuntu delivers a magical phone that is faster to run, faster to use and fits perfectly into the Ubuntu family.

Hands on demos with the software over on tech sites Engadget and The Verge show quite a bit of input-lag in the early software release, but the concept is intriguing nevertheless.

The first OEM devices using Ubunutu as their primary OS are expected in 2014.

Check out the lengthy "Industry proposition" for an in-depth introduction from Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth, and head over to ubuntu.com for more details.

ubuntu linux

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glynd
Posted 11:30am 03/1/13

hopefully the xda community gets all amongst this. Would love to try it out.

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BoDGie
Posted 11:31am 03/1/13

They talk about the phone OS like it does all these amazing things that nobody has ever done before - yet I don't see anything new...

How long before you have to recompile the kernel on it because it doesn't do something it's supposed to, and then when it boots up you get kernel panic.

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simul
Posted 11:38am 03/1/13

hopefully the xda community gets all amongst this. Would love to try it out.

Was there ever a strong Qt following on xda?

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3x0dus
Posted 12:15pm 03/1/13

Is there *realy* enough room for another phone OS ?

I don't think so, seem like wasted development.

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Eorl
Posted 12:55pm 03/1/13

Is there *realy* enough room for another phone OS ?

I don't think so, seem like wasted development.

I guess if Ubuntu offers actual new features and not just shiny re-design then a new OS is more than welcome. If it doesn't, not so much. I just hope it can be as easy to use as Android or Windows, and have the app market to boot.

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skythra
Posted 02:13pm 03/1/13

How long before you have to recompile the kernel on it because it doesn't do something it's supposed to, and then when it boots up you get kernel panic.

That's a pretty bitter 1990's view of linux...

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kos
Posted 08:24pm 03/1/13

The concept looks pretty cool, how good it is in implementation I'll wait and see.

I really love the concept of controls/buttons being always hidden and only showing with swipe-in gestures. I think anything that can reclaim more screen real estate on comparatively small smartphones is brilliant.

Is there *realy* enough room for another phone OS ?

I don't think so, seem like wasted development.

Don't forget about Firefox OS! They're not done yet.

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Twisted
Posted 09:04pm 03/1/13

Is there *realy* enough room for another phone OS ?

I don't think so, seem like wasted development.

There's always room for more phone OS's. The problem isn't the phone OS, it's the app platform. People are probably going to give it a miss. They've either invested bucks in the Apple app store and/or the Google app store. Sometimes re-buying the same apps if they've done both. So really the way I see it. You're not buying into Android or iOS, you're buying into their software distribution. The same as Steam vs. Origin or whatever other shit might hit the market. Except you can't run both :p

Would be cool if their OS supported Google's apps :) Who knows, Google gives them bucket loads of money, another revenue stream from an Ubuntu phone (if even possible) couldn't hurt.

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