Canonical has had a successful 2012 with the releases of Ubuntu 12.04, 12.10 and recently Ubuntu for Google’s Nexus 7. Now with the new year, Canonical has unveiled it’s new product; Ubuntu for Phones.
The Software
Ubuntu for Phones defines itself to be used more with gestures rather than relying on buttons and taps to accomplish tasks in a way that is fast and easy. An example of this would be the “Welcome Screen” (different from a lock screen found on mobile devices today) where each edge performs a unique task such as accessing a specific set of apps from the start, reading notifications and so on. And when on the home screen, you are presented with recently accessed content from various sources. Documents like photos, recordings, messages, apps and more are conveniently stored in the cloud on Ubuntu One.
It’s also worth noting that just like Classic Ubuntu, the user will be able to customize Ubuntu for Phones in many ways which makes me interested in this.
The Hardware
At the time of publishing this article, no OEM have officially signed up to get Ubuntu Phone OS on their devices. However, during the announcement yesterday, Ubuntu Phone OS was demonstrated running on a Galaxy Nexus and rumours are flying around that OS images for users to try are to be released in the next few weeks.
Canonical has put up a general chart depicting what specifications would be required to run Ubuntu Phone OS. For an entry level Ubuntu phone, the phone should have a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 SoC with at least 512MB of RAM and 4GB of internal storage expandable via SD card. As for high-end, the phone should have a quad-core ARM Cortex A9 SoC with more than 1GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage expandable via SD card and support for desktop convergence which I’m assuming is webtop-like functionality; where the phone is docked and used like a desktop.
For a detailed explanation of Ubuntu Phone OS from Mark Shuttleworth himself, check out this video below:
Source: Ubuntu
Would you replace your iPhone or Android device for one running Ubuntu Phone OS? Tell us why, or why not in the comments. We also have a thread in our forums if you want to chat about it with our community.
About Ryan Arthur
A student from Canada, Ryan is a techie with a great love of all things open source and Android. He can regularly be found hanging around the PinguyOS Forums as a super moderator.
