My earlier blog posting Ubuntu Linux for Smartphones from 2011 reported Ubuntu Linux heads to smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. Canonical plans to compete against Android, iOS and Windows on the smartphones.
Now Canonical has something to tell on smartphone sector: Canonical unveils Ubuntu phone OS that doubles as a “full PC”. Ubuntu now fits your phone. Canonical is now seeking OEMs: Who will build Ubuntu phones? Ubuntu phones are expected to be available at year 2014.
For more details go to Ubuntu for Phone page and view Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones, we go hands-on (video).
Ubuntu for Phone use technology from Android: core system is based around a typical Android Board Support Package (BSP) and it uses same drivers as Android. The system is designed to run native apps and lightweight HTML5 apps. All core applications are designed to run at full native speeds with a small memory footprint without overhead of a Java virtual machine. The system runs on ARM and Intel x86 architectures.
Entry level Ubuntu smartphone would use 1Ghz Cortex A9 ARM core with 512MB – 1GB of memory. That’s pretty normal for a decent today’s smartphone.
Ubuntu tries to pave the way for a new category of superphones, with a full PC desktop accessible just by docking the device to a monitor and keyboard. That category would use Quad-core A9 or Intel Atom processor with at least 1GB of memory. The idea is that high-end smartphones would have have a brain as powerful as ultra-light laptops.
Let’s see if this new mobile system finds it’s place on the mobile market place or not. It is a very hard place to push into at the moment because Android and iOS dominance. Even big players like Microsoft with huge resources have hard time in competing there.
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Mobile trends and predictions for 2013 « Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog says:
[...] Tomi Engdahl’s ePanorama blog All about electronics « Ubuntu now fits in your phone [...]
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu phones to come with a terminal—prepare your command line skills
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/01/ubuntu-phones-to-come-with-a-terminal-prepare-your-command-line-skills/
The Ubuntu phone operating system will come with a terminal application. That’s right: experienced users will have access to the full power of the Linux system running underneath the phone’s shiny graphical user interface.
In addition, the terminal application will emulate the Linux terminal in an application window and perhaps have a special keyboard layout optimized for Linux commands.
While Ubuntu phone code hasn’t been released publicly yet, it seems that development will take place somewhat in the open, with a wiki devoted to the platform’s core applications, which include e-mail, calendar, clock/alarm, weather, file manager, document viewer, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Linux-based Android doesn’t include a terminal by default, but Android phone users can get access to the Linux command line by installing third-party terminal apps. Why use a terminal app on a phone? A GitHub Android terminal project notes that it lets users “access the entire /sdcard file system, and you can install and run Linux command-line applications in the parts of the /data file system that are accessible to the Android Terminal Emulator process. You can also run command-line programs that access the Internet.”
It’s perhaps not surprising to see Ubuntu plan for a terminal app to be included by default. Canonical has said Ubuntu for phones and Ubuntu for desktops will have the same code base, while offering different user interfaces and exposing different functionality depending on whether someone is using a phone or PC
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu OS smartphones to hit stores in October
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57568089-94/ubuntu-os-smartphones-to-hit-stores-in-october/
The open-source operating system for PCs and TVs is making its way to mobile. Look for the first phones to arrive in the fall.
It’s been said that Ubuntu’s open-source operating system would be available on smartphones by the end of the year, and now it’s confirmed that consumers can get their hands on such devices in October.
app developers will get access to the OS later this month
It’s not yet clear which smartphones will run Ubuntu’s OS, but app developers will be able to work with the OS on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Inside Story Of Ubuntu’s Gesture-Centric Smartphone
http://www.fastcodesign.com/1671742/the-inside-story-of-ubuntus-gesture-centric-smartphone#1
No home button. No lock screen. The open-source smartphone is all about gestural interfaces–but does it go too far? Ubuntu’s designers don’t think so.
They previewed an Ubuntu-based smartphone OS with an aggressively gestural UI design. The phone doesn’t have a home button, a slider-based lock screen, a “settings” tile, or an app switcher toggle. Instead, a user accesses these functions by swiping various edges of the screen.
Gestural interfaces–which eschew visual “chrome”-like buttons and tiles in favor of swiping, pressing, or tapping directly on content areas–are just starting to go mainstream. But the Ubuntu phone is going all-in on these new interactions. They’re as baked-in to Ubuntu’s mobile design language
Canonical: Traditional Japanese architecture teaches us some important design principles about the balance between space and objects. Things that are not needed are not in the way, to allow complete immersion into an activity. Objects are placed around the periphery of the room and so are easily accessible when needed
These principles can be seen in Ubuntu’s gesture-based interface, which gives the content or task at hand undivided attention on the screen.
Canonical: During research, we found that most people use up to ten apps most frequently, so in Ubuntu a left edge swipe quickly reveals a list of these most used apps without ever leaving the current, open app.
Canonical: Ubuntu design is led from our exceptional design team based in London, but also through engagement and collaboration at the right levels with other designers and community contributors around the world.
Developers have already shown that the open-source approach can result in great code, so we don’t see why designers can’t achieve the same.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Dev preview of Ubuntu for phones touching down February 21
Get it for your Galaxy Nexus or Nexus 4
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/15/ubuntu_touch_developer_preview/
Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux distribution, has confirmed that the initial testing version of Ubuntu for phones, dubbed the Touch Developer Preview, will be available on February 21, with rolling updates to be released thereafter.
Most notably, Canonical’s blog post reveals that the Touch Developer Preview will be available for both of Google’s most recent flagship Nexus handsets: the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung and the LG-built Nexus 4. Previously, Shuttleworth had only mentioned the Galaxy Nexus as a target device.
Simultaneous with the release of the Touch Developer Preview images, Canonical will also make available tools for managing the process of flashing the OS to devices, which users will be able to download from the Ubuntu archives.
Once installed, the Touch Developer Preview will include a daily update mechanism that will allow users to automatically keep up with the latest progress on the OS.
Canonical says the long-term goal is for Ubuntu to support multiple types of devices, where the same Ubuntu code will deliver a mobile, tablet, desktop, or TV experience, depending on where it is installed or docked.
To help developers get up and running, Canonical has made available a Preview SDK that can be downloaded now, as well as an App Design Guide to help ensure that mobile apps for Ubuntu have a consistent UI look and feel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu phones won’t ship till 2014, might be locked down by carriers
http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/19/4005514/ubuntu-phones-2014-might-be-locked-down-by-mobile
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Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported that smartphones running Ubuntu Linux would ship in October of this year. Ubuntu boss Mark Shuttleworth says that’s a mistake. Today, the founder clarified that while a smartphone friendly version of the operating system — Ubuntu 13.10 — will be widely available in October with developer preview builds available this week, phones likely still won’t ship until early 2014. Though the OS will be ready for phones this year, he explained that the devices themselves would probably still need months of carrier testing.
For instance, Shuttleworth mentioned that he expects the new high-end Ubuntu smartphone to be software updatable to Ubuntu 14.04 at some point, which would add the new tablet UI — you could theoretically dock your smartphone with a larger touchscreen and be able to multitask with a tablet-sized app and a phone-sized app side by side. That sounds great, but it’s just the kind of thing that carriers might be loathe to test and support quickly. Similarly, the traditional openness of Ubuntu might be a target for carrier lockdowns.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu for tablets revealed with split screen multi-tasking, preview for Nexus slates coming this week
http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/19/ubuntu-for-tablets-revealed/
Here it is: the fourth and final piece of the Ubuntu puzzle. We’ve seen the OS on smartphones, on TVs and of course on desktops, but the tablet version has spent a little longer in its dressing room. Fortunately, Canonical feels that the last stage in its four-screen strategy is now ready for the limelight and has released a video of the software in action.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canonical is working with a chip vendor to optimise Ubuntu for smartphones
Shuttleworth says other chip vendors will come along
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2249463/canonical-is-working-with-a-chip-vendor-to-optimise-ubuntu-for-smartphones
LINUX DISTRIBUTOR Canonical has signed a deal with a chip vendor to work on optimising its Ubuntu Linux operating system for specific smartphone silicon.
Canonical, which is busy adapting its popular Ubuntu Linux distribution for smartphones and tablets, is in talks with mobile operators to carry devices installed with its operating system. However Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth said that a chip vendor approached Canonical and the two firms will be optimising silicon and software.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu touch preview can now be installed on Nexus phones, tablets
Not every Nexus device is supported—check yours before installing.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/ubuntu-touch-preview-can-now-be-installed-on-nexus-phones-tablets/
The promised Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview, the first version of Ubuntu ready for phones and tablets, is now available for download. Canonical has provided operating system images for various types of Nexus devices, along with instructions for installing them.
“The Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview is intended to be used for development and evaluation purposes only,” Canonical said. “It does not provide all of the features and services of a retail phone and cannot replace your current handset. This preview is the first release of a very new and unfinished version of Ubuntu and it will evolve quickly.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu’s Shuttleworth embraces tablet terror: Our PC biz will survive, too
Linux man’s roadmap munches tab, phone, PC, TV
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/20/shuttleworth_no_pc_fear/
Ubuntu spaceman Mark Shuttleworth is embracing the full horror of tablets and smartphones, calculating they’ll do little harm to his Linux distro’s PC business.
Shuttleworth yesterday announced a fondleslab-friendly Ubuntu interface for tabs ahead of next week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC). The first tabs running the UI will be the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 – the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview for the kit will be available from tomorrow, 21 February.
Next up – smartphones.
The first actual smartphones are expected in October from early adopters or hackers, but actual retail availability won’t happen until 2014 – once carrier testing on the “smartphone experience” has been completed and phones have been certified as healthy for use on networks.
The focus then switches to Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, slated for release next year. This will run exactly the same code and binaries for tablets, smartphones, TVs and PCs, with the machine’s screen re-orienting depending on how you dock or set up.
He promised application portability via HTML5 and full support for PhoneGap and “other” cross-platform frameworks. Shuttleworth has two targets: Android and Blackberry devs. But while Shuttleworth says he’s ready to share the love he does want devs to commit to Ubuntu – not take it as some second-best. Android devs will find it “very easy” to push their apps to Ubuntu via the Software Center, but: “We won’t make it by default, we only want devs who will target Ubuntu, but we will make it easy for them to do that.” On Blackberry, the space tourist said: “What we have invested in is closely aligned with core technologies inside BlackBerry.”
Ubuntu’s first success was a Linux distro on the PC, but it’s a matter of record that PC sales are tumbling – hurting the results of PC giants and forcing Dell to go private.
There’s no reliable stats on Ubuntu’s PC market share – Canonical last year had claimed on its website something like one in five PCs run Ubuntu or ship with Ubuntu. That claim since seems to have disappeared from Canonical’s site. Vice president of sales and business development Chris Kenyon late last year reckoned Ubuntu would account for 9 per cent of PC shipments next by next year.
Surely the decline of the PC has to hurt Ubuntu and by extension Canonical?
Shuttleworth dismissed the idea that the PC is dead, preferring to say that the industry is re-adjusting to a world of keyboard and touchy tabs.
“Tablets aren’t killing the PC – it’s a phase change,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Hands-on with the Ubuntu Touch Linux smartphone
http://www.infoworld.com/d/mobile-technology/hands-the-ubuntu-touch-linux-smartphone-213277
The early and surprisingly nice version bodes well for Canonical’s Linux smartphone — but you may not want to install it yourself
The good news: Ubuntu Touch is a more compelling mobile environment, even in the first developer version, than I expected. It borrows heavily from other mobile UIs, including BlackBerry 10, the iPad, Android, WebOS, and Windows Phone, yet manages to feel like its own OS. It’s much too soon to rate, but the OS is promising
The bad news for eager users: This is a “don’t try this at home” release (as the formal instructions don’t strongly clue you in on).
First, you can install it on only a handful of Google devices, including the Galaxy Nexus smartphone, Nexus 4 smartphone, and Nexus 7 tablet, and doing so wipes out the Android OS on them.
Only a handful of apps are available on the developer preview of Ubuntu Touch, including a browser, a video player, a music player, a Twitter client, a photo-taking app a Facebook client, a basic note-taker, a basic weather app, and of course a phone client. There are no other real apps, not even an email app. These apps were basic, as you’d expect.
The Apps screen shows icons for a bunch more apps for download, but most aren’t yet available.
What I found bizarre was the lack of a Settings app. So far, you can set only the volume, brightness, Airplane Mode, and Wi-Fi network using the pull-down tray from the top of the screen.
I wanted to take a series of screenshots or photos of the Ubuntu Touch to show more of what it looks like, but I could find no way to do so.
Ubuntu Touch killed my Nexus 4.
Oh, but a few hours later, my dead Nexus 4 came back to life — I have no idea why — with Ubuntu Touch running as if nothing had happened.
Canonical appears to be taking a fairly simple direction, so I don’t expect iOS-level sophistication or app capabilities, and I doubt we’ll even get Android-like midlevel capabilities.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu smartphones coming to two regions in October
http://www.zdnet.com/ubuntu-smartphones-coming-to-two-regions-in-october-7000010969/
Summary: Canonical says its Ubuntu smartphone will be available before the end of the year, but is remaining coy on where the handsets will be launched first.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Canonical and Chinese standards body announce Ubuntu collaboration
http://www.canonical.com/content/canonical-and-chinese-standards-body-announce-ubuntu-collaboration
The China Software and Integrated Chip Promotions Centre (CSIP) today announced a new reference architecture for Chinese operating systems. CSIP, which is a part of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MII), has selected Canonical’s Ubuntu as the basis for that reference architecture in order to provide a flexible, open, widely-used and standardised operating system. The announcement is part of the Chinese government’s five year plan to promote open source software and accelerate the growth of the open source ecosystem within China.
Ubuntu Kylin goes beyond language localisation and includes features and applications that cater for the Chinese market.
Tomi says:
China Builds its Own National Operating System Around Ubuntu
http://micgadget.com/34304/china-builds-its-own-national-operating-system-around-ubuntu/
The Chinese government is building an operating system based on the open source OS Ubuntu. The software department of the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, announced that Ubuntu would be a new reference architecture for an OS targeted at the Chinese market. Working with Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, the authorities plan to release the Ubuntu 13.04-based Kylin desktop OS next month, with plans to extend the Kylin OS to other platforms at a later date.
The announcement is part of the Chinese government’s five year plan to promote open source software and accelerate the growth of the open source ecosystem within China.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu “Raring Ringtail” hits beta, disables Windows dual-boot tool
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/04/ubuntu-raring-ringtail-hits-beta-disables-windows-dual-boot-tool/
Ubuntu 13.04, scheduled for release on April 25, is now available for testing in its second and final beta release. Nicknamed “Raring Ringtail,” Ubuntu 13.04 is one of the final releases that’s just for desktops and servers. By this time next year, Canonical intends to release a single version of Ubuntu targeting all form factors, including smartphones and tablets.
Raring Ringtail is based on Linux kernel version 3.8.5 and includes both Python 2 and Python 3.3. “We eventually intend to ship only Python 3 with the Ubuntu desktop image, not Python 2,”
13.04 is the midway point in Ubuntu’s two-year release cycle. Long Term Support versions are released once every two years and are supported for five years.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Hands-on with Ubuntu’s rudimentary phone and tablet OS
It’s here, but there’s not much you can do with it
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/23/ubuntu_tablets_first_look/
Canonical says that Ubuntu 13.10 will include “a complete entry-level smartphone experience” when it ships in October. Anyone brave enough to try out the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview, however, will quickly discover that the current incarnation of Ubuntu for phones and tablets offers considerably less than that.
When it shipped the source code and installation images for the Developer Preview on Thursday, Canonical made it quite clear that this first release isn’t meant to replace production devices.
nstalling it is the first hurdle. Doing so can be a little nerve-wracking, because it means erasing the Android OS that came on your original device. So I’ll repeat the usual caveats here: if you do try to install it, it is possible to screw up, and you might end up with an inoperable device.
If all goes according to plan, the whole process should take just a few minutes, after which the device will automatically reboot into Ubuntu. That’s when you’ll ask the obvious question: So now what? The answer, unfortunately, is “Not much.”
Navigating the OS took some getting used to. Unlike Android, Ubuntu offers no dedicated buttons for things such as Settings or the Home screen. Everything is about swiping and scrolling, which occasionally made it feel like Canonical’s UI designers were bending over backwards to avoid more obvious controls.
So there’s really not much going on for regular smartphone users in the Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview, and you certainly can’t get much “real work” done with it … which is pretty much what Canonical told us to expect. So why would anyone – even an Ubuntu enthusiast – want to download it, especially when you have to wipe a perfectly good phone or tablet to do so?
Naturally, the primary audience for the Preview is developers who want to build apps for it. But even then, the Ubuntu SDK is still in alpha, and the initial release only supports building apps for phones, not tablets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Ubuntu for phones due ‘by end of May’ – usable this time
Team vows to ‘dogfood’ its own OS
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/10/ubuntu_phones_dogfood/
When Canonical released the Developer Preview of the smartphone version of its Ubuntu Linux OS, it warned users that it was only an experimental snapshot and that it couldn’t replace their current handsets. That could change soon, however, as one Canonical exec has vowed to make an Ubuntu device his day-to-day phone by the end of this month.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Developers Revisit Replacing Firefox With Chromium
http://news.slashdot.org/story/13/05/16/2037212/ubuntu-developers-revisit-replacing-firefox-with-chromium
Via Phoronix comes news that Ubuntu is revisiting replacing Firefox with Chromium as the default browser. Reasons include that Chromium is the basis of Ubuntu Touch and their new web apps platform, and using a single browser for all versions of Ubuntu would simplify maintenance.
The Ubuntu community will have their input solicited as the next step
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu phone OS has eight carriers signed on to boost development
Carrier list may put Ubuntu on phones throughout the world. http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/06/ubuntu-phone-os-has-eight-carriers-signed-on-to-boost-development/
Canonical has formed a “Carrier Advisory Group” of eight mobile operators who will collaborate to influence the development of Ubuntu for smartphones.
Canonical said the first members of the group are Deutsche Telekom, Everything Everywhere, Korea Telecom, Telecom Italia, LG UPlus, Portugal Telecom, SK Telecom, and “the leading Spanish international carrier.”
The carriers in this group will be the only ones to get “access to early information about Ubuntu and device manufacturer plans to support the OS, as well as the opportunity to be a launch partner for Ubuntu on smartphones,” Canonical said.
The curious can try Ubuntu Touch on Nexus devices today, but Canonical has said phones preinstalled with Ubuntu aren’t likely to hit retail until Q1 2014.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
On the Edge of failure: Ubuntu smartphone looks unlikely to reach crowdfunding goal
http://www.theverge.com/2013/8/7/4594714/canonical-ubuntu-edge-crowdfunding-campaign-may-not-reach-its-goal
The Edge, a smartphone that runs a mobile edition of the popular desktop OS Ubuntu, will only get made if would-be users pledge $32 million via the crowdfunding site Indiegogo. With a strict time limit of 30 days, this ambitious campaign needs to average more than $1 million per day, however the first half of that period has seen great initial momentum slow down to a crawl. In its 15 days on Indigegogo, the Edge project has attracted $8.3 million in pledges, leaving it nearly $24 million short.
Last week, The Guardian reported that statistical consultants at Open Analytics believe the campaign will top out somewhere between $18 million and $22 million — a massive $10 million off its target. But supporters of Canonical believe it’s not over yet. Perennial Ubuntu watcher Joey-Elijah Sneddon, editor of OMG! Ubuntu!, believes Canonical “could still pull it off,”
the handset was priced at $600 for the first 5,000 backers, and $625, $650, and $675 tiers were added shortly after — may have “possibly set unrealistic expectations about the cost of the device.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Edge smartphone breaks $10.2m crowdfunding record
Still likely to miss target
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2289417/ubuntu-edge-smartphone-breaks-usd102m-crowdfunding-record
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER Canonical has broken a crowdfunding record for its Ubuntu Edge smartphone.
According to the firm it has now raised more money than the Pebble smartwatch and still has almost a week left to run.
“When we started this campaign three weeks ago, we hoped it would resonate with our community. So, to break the world record for a crowdfunding campaign is absolutely mind-blowing,” said Canonical CEO Jane Silber.
“We felt that innovation had substantially slowed down in the mobile industry, so [we] wanted to address this. We’re still astonished by the generosity of our community and will continue to do all we can to make the Ubuntu Edge a reality.”
Canonical claimed it needs to raise all the money in order to deliver its concept smartphone and PC handset. The Ubuntu Edge handset is offered to anyone who pledges over $695. Canonical said it will produce a first run of 40,000 devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Edge crowdsauce cash stash comes up short
Community-backed smartphone still breaks record for dosh-slosh
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/22/ubuntu_edge_no_go/
Canonical’s Ubuntu Edge crowd-funded smartphone will remain a Shuttleworthian dream, having failed to hit its $32m funding target.
The phone raised $12.8m ahead of today’s deadline on the Indiegogo site, less than half the figure stated necessary to fund production of 40,000 units when the campaign started on 23 July.
Canonical chief executive Jane Silber told The Reg in a statement that the Ubuntu Edge “as described in the Indiegogo campaign” will therefore not be produced.
Penguins who pledged money will get a full refund.
“We still believe that the campaign has ben successful in that it has given voice to the need for innovation. We hope that this campaign will positively disrupt the way the phone industry brings out new technology and devices,” she said.
The Edge set a record in raising “crowdfunds”, beating current record holder the Pebble smartwatch, which sourced $10m on Kickstarter.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Failed Ubuntu Edge Linux hybrid smartmobe: AN AMAZING SUCCESS
Canonical looks on bright side of $32m fundraising disaster
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/08/23/ubuntu_edge_campaign_was_a_big_winner/
Canonical’s attempt to raise £20.5m ($32m) to create a Ubuntu Linux smartphone wasn’t the failure it appeared to be: despite only managing two fifths of its fundraising target, the Edge handset project was a hugely successful advertisement for the Ubuntu distribution.
That’s, of course, according to Canonical boss Mark Shuttleworth, who reckons the whole episode has generated huge amounts of interest in Ubuntu Linux as a mobile platform even if the devices he promises to launch in 2014 won’t have the hybrid capabilities of the Edge.
“Garnered media attention across CNBC, Engadget, The Independent, TechCrunch, the BBC, T3, Stuff, The Verge, The Guardian, Wired, Pandodaily, Fast Company, Forbes, The Telegraph and more.”
So as a marketing project to get the Ubuntu name associated with phones the whole thing was a big success even if it didn’t lead to the promised hybrid of a combined phone and desktop computer.
Not that such a thing is unthinkable – plug a Motorola mobe into a big screen, via HDMI, and it will happily boot into a desktop interface navigable with keyboard and mouse. The Ubuntu Edge was supposed to boot into Ubuntu as a phone or desktop machine, using Android to run existing mobiles apps, but the advantages of having two operating systems must be called into question – what proportion of ordinary users would really gain from a Linux-based desktop OS?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu: One OS, one interface, all devices
http://www.zdnet.com/ubuntu-one-os-one-interface-all-devices-7000018613/
Summary: Canonical believes that Ubuntu can be one operating system and Unity the one interface you need for your PC, your smartphone, and your tablet. Here’s how they’ll do it.
For years, Ubuntu and its parent company Canonical has been pursuing a single dream: One operating system and one interface, Unity, for PCs, tablets, and smartphones. That dream is now becoming a reality.
The recent headlines have been about Canonical’s crowd-sourcing of its hybrid smartphone/PC, Ubuntu Edge, but Canonical’s plan of one integrated operating system and interface for all platforms predates it by years. While Unity is known better as an easy-to-use Linux desktop interface for beginners, Canonical has been aiming Unity at the smartphone and tablet market since it was introduced in October 2010.
It’s only now that this plan is coming into focus for those who don’t follow Ubuntu like a hawk.
Bacon said, “Unity is all about getting rid of the computer. Its focus is helping users focus on content.”
Instead of buttons or on-screen icons, Unity uses the edges of the display. Specifically, the top of the screen is used for indicators and settings . The left edge holds the Launcher, which is a bar of icons that’s similar to the Mac OS X dock. On the bottom edge you’ll find the controls for the app that’s currently on the screen. Finally, the right edge gives you access to multi-tasking functionality. To access any of them from a touchscreen you simply swipe from the edge to the display’s center. With a mouse, you move to the edge of the screen, click, and pull to the center of the screen.
You see the point? It all looks and works the same regardless of the platform.
To help developers work with this Ubuntu version provides not just a software developer kit (SDK) but an app design guide as well. In addition, Ubuntu provides its own app font set, global patterns to make sure all apps behave consistently, and design building blocks to help make certain all your apps look like they’re all part of the Unity family.
Can Canonical pull this off? Well, technically, they already have. The bigger question is: “Will the device vendors and carriers let them do it?”
The ultimate question, of course, is will you buy into this? Well, you’ll get your chance. The US’s biggest phone carrier, Verizon, will be offering Ubuntu smartphones and there’s a carrier-group of international phone carriers that are also backing Ubuntu.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-57615107-94/ubuntu-touch-os-wins-its-first-smartphone-partner/
Canonical has inked its first deal with partner who’ll put the Linux-basd operating system on its phones, founder Mark Shuttleworth reveals.
Canonical has just signed its first deal to supply a smartphone with its mobile operating system, Canonical founder and product strategy leader Mark Shuttleworth revealed in an interview here at the LeWeb conference. He wouldn’t say which company has agreed to use the Linux-based OS, but said it will be offered on high-end phones in 2014.
“We have concluded our first set of agreements to ship Ubuntu on mobile phones,” Shuttleworth said. “We’ve shifted gears from ‘making a concept’ to ‘it’s going to ship.’ That has a big impact on the team.”
Shuttleworth knows he’s got big incumbent powers to reckon with, along with smaller mobile OS players such as Windows Phone from Microsoft, Tizen from Samsung and Intel, and Firefox OS from Mozilla and a host of carrier partners. He thinks Ubuntu Touch, with a flexible programming foundation beneath and an immersive services-first interface on top, will find a place, though.
“Volume is important. We want to do stuff that people use every day,” he said. He doesn’t want Ubuntu to occupy only a small niche of the mobile market.
So how will Ubuntu Touch make it to the big leagues? Partnerships with those who offer services — partnerships with companies like LinkedIn, Baidu, Facebook, Evernote, and Pinterest is one way. Those with online services see Android as a vehicle to drive people to Google services, and they’re looking to back an alternative that will give them top billing, Shuttleworth said.
It’s hard to imagine that Android developers will eagerly to produce a sister version of their apps, no matter how easy the developer tools make it, unless Ubuntu Touch spreads widely.
“We make no claims for Android compatibility, but we make it super easy for you to target both at the same time and super cool for you to do so,” Shuttleworth said.
Another part of the sales pitch is carrier support. He’s won Ubuntu Touch endorsements from Vodafone, 3, EE, KT, SK Telecom, Verizon, Deutsche Telecom, T-Mobile, PT, and more, he said. And the final piece: software written natively for Ubuntu Touch will also work on Ubuntu-based PCs and, someday, Ubuntu-based tablets and TVs.
Shuttleworth founded Canonical in 2004, back in the day when Linux on the desktop was, if not exactly a contender, at least a more widely discussed alternative to Windows PCs than it is today. Since then, the company expanded to the server market, with a major focus on cloud-computing infrastructure such as Amazon Web Services’ EC2.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Alternative to Windows XP
Ubuntu Emerges as Free Alternative Operating System to Windows
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/2465/alternative-windows-xp-ubuntu-emerges-free-alternative-operating-system-windows
As support for Windows XP ends on April 8 of next year, security concerns abound, and there are growing talks about possible alternatives to Windows XP, including operating systems (OSs) such as Ubuntu Linux.
According to an industry source on December 15, there is a heated discussion about replacing Windows XP with an alternative OS in IT communities at home and abroad, since the market for PC operating systems (OS) has been divided into largely MS windows and Mac OS, without any other significant operating systems. But the issue of a third option has now become a reality, as Windows XP is going to be retired.
There are various talks on how to continue using the retired Windows XP and how to install an alternative OS to replace it.
The most talked-about OS is Linux. Linux has been around for a long time, but has not before been easily usable to average users because of the limited driver support of graphic cards and compatibility with propriety Microsft software. And it was difficult to install. However, Ubuntu Linux has evolved to the point where novice users can install it easily. It is free, and basic programs come automatically installed. Also, users can install various multimedia codec and extensions such as Adobe Flash easily during installation.
According to a software industry source, “Ubuntu does not support as wide an array of programs like Windows but is easy to install, and has evolved into a highly sophisticated program,” adding, “PC users today do not need clunky packaged software. In a desktop environment today, users can perform most of the tasks with the aid of a simple browser.”
Ubuntu not only offers Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox but a browser for Linux, as well. When using Chrome, users can synchronize their preferences settings, and Internet surfing and working with basic documents becomes an easy task.
Ubuntu not only offers Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox but a browser for Linux, as well. When using Chrome, users can synchronize their preferences settings, and Internet surfing and working with basic documents becomes an easy task.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu desktop is so 2013… All hail 2014 Ubuntu mobile
Does this mean Linux gets a real chance on mobile?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/12/25/ubuntu_year_review/
Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth is no stranger to exploring rarefied territory. The man has, after all, been to space.
His interest in new frontiers means Ubuntu, the Linux distro he created, is also poised to make a great leap – to go where no Linux has gone before.
Shuttleworth’s plan to take Linux beyond the desktop and into the world of consumer devices may be his most daring and, if it works, lasting idea.
Just 12 months ago, Ubuntu was yet another Linux desktop. In that sense, looking back at 2013, it would be perfectly reasonable to say it was a very boring year for Ubuntu.
It’s all about the Touch
What has made and will continue to make Ubuntu the distro to watch in 2014 is not desktop Ubuntu: it is Ubuntu Touch.
What made 2013 a really exciting year for Ubuntu fans was the revelation that Canonical was going to put a real Linux distro on a phone. You could argue that Android is Linux – peel back the virtual machine layers and technically Android runs atop a Linux kernel – but Android pales next to the full power of Linux on your phone.
When Shuttleworth announced Ubuntu Touch, he didn’t just move Canonical into a new market, he reignited the nerd fantasy of real Linux-based phones, which taps a market well beyond Ubuntu’s usual share of the Linux desktop.
To paraphrase an old Apple ad, an Ubuntu Touch offers your desktop in your pocket. Thanks to that Mir display server that no one will notice you literally have a desktop in your pocket; all you have to do is plug your phone into a larger monitor and Ubuntu Touch will reveal a desktop size interface. The “desktop” version of Ubuntu in 2018 will be your Ubuntu Touch device docked to an 8K ultra-HD monitor. Who doesn’t want that?
But more even than the convenience of your desktop in your pocket, Ubuntu Touch gives Linux a chance that it has never had before.
At the same time, if Ubuntu Touch can realise its ambitions, it has a chance to change the face of mobile computing for good. Either way, it’s safe to assume 2014 is going to be a wild ride for Ubuntu fans.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Major setbacks for two new smartphone OSs, Tizen and Ubuntu Touch
http://gigaom.com/2014/01/17/major-setbacks-for-two-new-smartphone-oss-tizen-and-ubuntu-touch/
Summary:
Looks like there won’t be any big new challengers for iOS and Android this year, after Japan’s NTT DoCoMo shelved plans for a Tizen launch and Canonical conceded that no big manufacturers will release Ubuntu phones this year.
Will 2014 be the year when scrappy new challengers take on the might of Android and iOS? Never say never, but the challenge won’t come from Tizen nor Ubuntu Touch.
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has indefinitely suspended its plans for a Tizen phone launch this year, and Ubuntu backer Canonical has admitted that there’s unlikely to be any Ubuntu handset coming from a major manufacturer or carrier this year.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu store apps won’t work across mobile and desktop in 14.04
Canonical’s dream of a converged mobile and desktop platform advances—slowly.
http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/02/ubuntu-store-apps-wont-work-across-mobile-and-desktop-in-14-04/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Has Two Phone Partners, Launching In 2014
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTYwODg
Mark Shuttleworth has just revealed there’s two manufacturing partners for Ubuntu Mobile and they will have devices shipping in 2014.
The two partners are BQ in Europe and Meizu in China. BQ will be doing high-end European devices and Meizu will help them penetrate the Chinese market.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Aims For Top 50 iOS/Android Apps
http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTYwOTA
Ubuntu’s app ecosystem along with its HTML5-based platform for phones/tablets
By the time there’s Ubuntu phones on the market, Mark hopes to see the “top 50″ apps from the Android and iOS stores available for Ubuntu on mobile.
Tomi Engdahl says:
First Ubuntu phones go on sale Q3 this year
http://www.cnet.com.au/first-ubuntu-phones-go-on-sale-q3-this-year-339346762.htm?feed=rss
Ubuntu-powered versions of the Meixu MX3 and BQ Aquaris smartphones will debut in the third quarter of this year. I sat down with Shuttleworth, who’s also the head of British company Canonical, at phone and tablet extravaganza Mobile World Congress, where he revealed why Ubuntu is launching with partners Meizu and BQ.
“Our first generation of phones will be astonishingly great in some areas,” Shuttleworth explained, “but will come across as weak in others. So if we get them into the right hands, people can celebrate the things we’re really great at while we buff up the app catalogue and improve in other areas.
“We won’t have 650,000 apps in the app store, so we’ll get the phone in the hands of people who don’t care about that first.”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cebit: Ubuntu smartphones to cost ‘between $200 and $400′
Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth reveals more about upcoming Linux-based devices
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2333689/cebit-ubuntu-smartphones-to-cost-between-usd200-and-usd400
HANOVER: SMARTPHONES RUNNING Canonical’s Ubuntu mobile operating system will cost between $200 and $400, according to the firm’s CEO Mark Shuttleworth.
“We’re going with the higher end because we want people who are looking for a very sharp, beautiful experience and because our ambition is to be selling the future PC, the future personal computing engine.”
“Android wasn’t designed or built to be your personal computer,” he said. “We have the benefit of starting late so we were able to think about it very deeply before it got going.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Phone Isn’t Important Enough To Demand an Open Source Baseband
http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/03/24/2225208/ubuntu-phone-isnt-important-enough-to-demand-an-open-source-baseband
“Canonical is producing a version of the Ubuntu Linux distribution specifically for smartphones, but Richard Tynan, writing for PrivacyInternational.org, recently pointed out that the baseband in Ubuntu-powered phones will remain proprietary. …”
Tomi Engdahl says:
Can we have an open phone please? The case of the Ubuntu Phone
https://www.privacyinternational.org/blog/can-we-have-an-open-phone-please-the-case-of-the-ubuntu-phone
For some time, many in the privacy and security community hoped for a completely open-source mobile phone, one that would allow for code to be examined and strengthened to prevent malicious attacks to a user’s privacy.
So when Canonical, the company that primarily funds Ubuntu GNU/Linux, announced it was entering the mobile phone market, we were among the many who hailed this development.
However, despite hopes of a totally open mobile handset platform, Privacy International has learned from Canonical that their new phone will suffer from the same problems as their competitors by leaving the baseband closed. While the operating system of the phone will be open, without the ability of the security community to examine the baseband software of the new Ubuntu Phone, the open-source nature of the remaining element may provide no more assurances than other open-source phone operating systems such as Android.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu phone isn’t important enough to demand an open source baseband
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/ubuntu-phone-isnt-important-enough-demand-open-source-baseband
Although it’s a bummer that Ubuntu-based smartphones won’t be fully open source, it’s not really Canonical’s fault.
“If you read the catalogue of spy tools and digital weaponry provided to us by Edward Snowden, you’ll see that firmware on your device is the NSA’s best friend,” Shuttleworth said in a recent blog post.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sticky Tahr-fy pudding: Ubuntu 14.04 is slickest Linux desktop ever
Wait, Canonical actually listened to us?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/28/ubuntu_14_01_final_beta_review/
If Ubuntu Mobile is able to do what iOS did for Apple – that is, sell not just phones and also tablets beyond the company’s corresponding desktop – Canonical needs to have a great desktop ready to go. As of this beta at least, Ubuntu 14.04 is well on its way to being just that – a great desktop on which to stake Ubuntu’s future.
Voice Over Talent says:
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any problems of
plagorism or copyright infringement? My blog has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either authored myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it
is popping it up all over the internet without my authorization.
Do you know any ways to help reduce content from being stolen?
I’d genuinely appreciate it.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Leadwerks partners with Ubuntu for Linux games development
It’s also available on Steam OS
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2346578/leadwerks-partners-with-ubuntu-for-linux-games-development
LEADWERKS HAS HOOKED UP with Canonical to offer its games development software under Ubuntu Linux, following a successful Kickstarter campaign last summer.
The firms said they will make the Leadwerks Game Engine software development framework available in the Ubuntu Software Center to provide users of the operating system with a powerful tool for rapid game development under Ubuntu Linux.
Canonical claims that Ubuntu Linux has 25 million users, including many games developers and even more potential games customers.
small business consulting boston says:
Very good post! We will be linking to this great post on our
website. Keep up the great writing.
Tomi Engdahl says:
June 12th, 2014, 06:55 GMT · By Silviu Stahie
First Ubuntu Phone Shown by Meizu at Mobile Asia Expo, Looks Stunning
http://news.softpedia.com/news/First-Ubuntu-Phones-Shown-by-Meizu-at-Mobile-Asia-Expo-and-They-Look-Stunning-446395.shtml
The first Ubuntu phone has been shown at the Mobile Asia Expo 2014 by Meizu, the first company that decided to adopt the new operating system from Canonical.
Unlike some of its direct competitors, like Firefox OS, Ubuntu doesn’t rely too much on web apps. This is one of the reasons why Firefox OS was launched faster on the market, but the two operating systems are aimed at different devices.
Ubuntu for phones is able to power high-end products
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu Touch For Phones Hits RTM, First Phones Coming This Year
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/09/28/0230224/ubuntu-touch-for-phones-hits-rtm-first-phones-coming-this-year
In early 2013, Canonical showed the world Ubuntu Touch, a version of Ubuntu developed specifically for smartphones. Now, the mobile operating system has finally reached “release to manufacturing” status.
The first phone running Ubuntu Touch, the Meizu MX4, will start shipping in December.
iGeek suggests the Pro variant may have a Samsung Exynos 5430 processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 2560×1536 resolution screen
Ubuntu Touch finalized, first phones coming this year
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2687847/ubuntu-touch-finalized-first-phones-coming-this-year.html#tk.fb_pc
It’s coming on real phones, too, with the first phone with Ubuntu Touch shipping this December.
As the Oppo N1 was to CyanogenMod, the Meizu MX4 will be to Ubuntu. You’ll soon be able to get phones that ship with officially supported Ubuntu software—no more hacking around on Nexus devices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nick Summers / Engadget:
First Ubuntu phone, a repurposed mid-range BQ Android phone, goes on flash sale in EU next week for $195
The first Ubuntu phone arrives next week, but there’s a catch
http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/06/ubuntu-phone-launch/
It’s been a long time coming, but finally Canonical is ready to release its first Ubuntu phone. After teaming up with Meizu and BQ almost a year ago, we’re getting a (sort of) new handset from the latter; it’s actually a repurposed version of its Aquaris E4.5, a mid-range smartphone that normally ships with Android. The new “Ubuntu Edition” keeps all of the same hardware, which is nothing to write home about.
Where Canonical and BQ are hoping to break the mould is with their software and sales strategy. Taking a page from the playbook of Chinese firms such as Xiaomi, the first Ubuntu handset will be sold, at least to begin with, through a series of online flash sales.
The first of these is next week and a handful of European carriers will be offering special SIM bundles to early adopters.
The software experience is certainly unique, and the company’s work around Scopes — categorised home screens that aggregate content from multiple sources — sets it apart from iOS and Android. “We are going for the mass market,”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The first Ubuntu smartphone goes on sale in Europe next week for just under €170
http://thenextweb.com/gadgets/2015/02/06/first-ubuntu-smartphone-goes-sale-europe-next-week-just-e170/
It’s been a long road since the project was announced, but the first Ubuntu-based smartphone will go on sale for just under €170 (around $195) in a flash sale across Europe.
While its launch will likely be welcomed, the handset itself isn’t exactly new hardware – it repurposes BQ’s existing Aquaris E4.5 handset and pairs it with Ubuntu’s OS. Not the Snappy Core version announced earlier in 2015 though.
apps built specifically for the OS will be required for the best experience, but the Ubuntu mobile platform does also support HTML5 apps as standard.
Some of the big names on board and ready for launch include Twitter, eBay, Amazon and Yelp, a spokesperson said. There’s also support for Spotify and Dropbox via third-party apps, the company added.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu smartphone goes on sale and promptly sells out
First batch of £125 handsets get snapped up in hours
By Carly Page
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2394743/ubuntu-smartphone-goes-on-sale-but-wont-ship-until-march
THE FIRST UBUNTU SMARTPHONE, otherwise known as BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition, has gone on sale.
The first batch of Ubuntu-powered handsets will be made available through a series of flash sales, and the first was announced via Twitter on Wednesday.
However, just a few hours after it went on sale, the Ubuntu smartphone has already sold out
The BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition was announced last week as the first phone to be powered by a mobile version of Canonical’s operating system.
As the price tag suggests, it hasn’t got too much going for it in the specs department.
The handset doesn’t run the latest ‘Snappy’ version of Ubuntu either. It does come with a UI called Scopes, however, which consists of subject-based visual home screens, rather than menus, and reflects the web-app basis of the phone.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ubuntu mobile phone may have a good idea in it
Meizu device corresponds to the current smart phone design, the desired trends, so the device can evaluate the kind of clean slate.
Then, attention is specifically usability. And the Finnish Qt has been developed for Ubuntu Touch indeed different from the moment the smartphone from the mainstream, which is reduced merely to time in the Android and iOS sovelluskeskeisyydeksi.
Meizussa rotating Ubuntu wants to reject app-centricity. It is raised to the surface of the “regions” (scopes). The higher-level control is borrowed from the Ubuntu Unity interface, in which the main settings and the areas highlighted on the left hand side of the slide.
The idea of Unity are not all laptops do not like, but it works on the screen of your smartphone.
Ubuntu is a huge challenge to try to prize the market for Android and iOS compression. Meizun device is pretty and powerful like all modern smart phones.
Source: http://www.etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2500:ubuntu-kannykassa-voi-olla-ideaa&catid=13&Itemid=101