Canonical announces Ubuntu Phone OS coming in early 2014

65. MeoCao (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 22:53 5

Looks great, if it runs smoothly on average phones then the future is bright.

15. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 14:38 11

I'd say a converged phone/desktop system is better than a dual boot option.

The hands-on that I've seen actually looks really good. There is definitely optimization to be done, but the OS itself looks pretty complete. Now, it's just a matter of getting apps on it.

39. gwuhua1984 posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:58 1

Just saw their web site information on Android to Ubuntu. Integrating Ubuntu to Android sound good.

42. Aeires (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 19:02 0

I was more interested in using Android for phone purposes but having the ability to dock it with a monitor to use the Ubuntu resources. Main reason I was hoping the Padfone would come to T-Mobile, the docking ability is a big advantage.

54. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:24 0

Ubuntu for Android will still exist for users like you.

• This comment is posted in response to #42 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #42 Hide

64. Dr.Phil posted on 02 Jan 2013, 22:21 0

Michael, wouldn't this be the same as the Meego OS where you could port Android apps over? If that's the case then the apps you have come to know in Android should be able to work on Ubuntu as well.

Also, with the Tizen and Firefox OS' coming out, those applications may be able to be used on this OS as well. At least that's what I would think.

67. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 23:32 0

Certainly didn't help Meego all that much. Microsoft also offered an easy way to port Android apps to WP and that didn't really work all that well. Native development is always better.

• This comment is posted in response to #64 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #64 Hide

69. Dr.Phil posted on 03 Jan 2013, 00:11 0

Well, the problem with Meego was Nokia dropping it without giving it much of a chance and going straight to Windows Phone. So, I wouldn't really say that the app development was the problem with Meego, but instead it was the lack of support from a hardware developer. I would look towards the success or failure of Tizen as a real indicator of what Meego could have been since it seems that Samsung and Intel are committed to the platform.

Also, the "easy way to port" Android apps to Windows Phone was found out to be not that easy just because of how different the two OS' APIs were. I would think that Android, Ubuntu, and Tizen would have such similar APIs that this wouldn't be a problem.

• This comment is posted in response to #67 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #67 Hide

72. saied posted on 03 Jan 2013, 02:31 0

Correct me if I'm wrong but "Ubuntu on android" had access to android apps quite natively
BTW is that now scrapped?

• This comment is posted in response to #67 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #67 Hide

80. MichaelHeller posted on 03 Jan 2013, 09:57 0

Ubuntu for Android will still exist. Shuttleworth is hoping that will help people get used to the idea of converging mobile and traditional PCs before Ubuntu phones come out.

• This comment is posted in response to #72 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #72 Hide

23. hellt1M posted on 02 Jan 2013, 15:27 1

they said canonical will be releasing an image of this beast within the next few weeks! :D

24. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 15:39 2

Yes sir, and I'm loading it on my old Galaxy Nexus the minute it happens!

18. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 14:54 2

I'm wondering the same, but given that the plan is to make Ubuntu 14.04 universal, and to use the Ubuntu Software Centre, I'm going to assume that the answer is yes.

44. shuaibhere posted on 02 Jan 2013, 19:17 2

Then I'm leaving android for this...don't get me wrong guys...I still love android..but I can't afford to buy two smartphones at a time..

11. nwright94 (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 14:14 4

Their gpu and CPU is great too, still matching and even beating current high end phones. I would LOVE this OS on my 5.

22. hellt1M posted on 02 Jan 2013, 15:25 2

go away...

30. nwright94 (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 16:53 7

For posting facts? I'm really hating how this website is becoming an android only website, you guys don't accept people with different OS preferences. There's this wonderful website called androidcentral.com where you won't have to see comments from windows phone, iPhone, or blackberry users. If you hold so much animosity against non android users, why do you even go on a website that reports a variety of news? So how about you go away.

• This comment is posted in response to #22 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #22 Hide

50. ama3654 posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:06 2

Yeah with a less than HD display and 4 inch screen

51. PhoneArenaUser posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:13 0

"I would LOVE this OS on my 5."

You can be sure in 100% that Apple won't allow it!

Also why you want to use Ubuntu Phone OS instead instead of iOS, unhappy with iOS?

52. nwright94 (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:20 3

It's not that I'm unhappy, it gets the job done, but it's a bit stale. This looks very fresh and while I don't hate it and bash on it, I'm not a fan of android, it's just not my cup or tea. And I know apple wouldn't allow it, just wishful thinking :)

• This comment is posted in response to #51 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #51 Hide

53. nwright94 (unregistered) posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:21 3

Not all iPhone users think everything about it is perfect. I've just gotten my second replacement for a bad power button. Being away from home in college, FaceTime and iMessage are a big help with staying in touch with my parents so that's my main reason of using it.

• This comment is posted in response to #51 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #51 Hide

55. PhoneArenaUser posted on 02 Jan 2013, 20:28 0

Ok, I see.

• This comment is posted in response to #53 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #53 Hide

8. tigermcm posted on 02 Jan 2013, 14:07 4

firefox

28. johnnh posted on 02 Jan 2013, 16:43 2

aliyun os

66. Bappy posted on 02 Jan 2013, 23:28 2

haven't heard of Jolla "Snailfish", you are probably missing Jolla "Sailfish" though, i think.

16. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 14:43 6

Ubuntu is one of the big name Linux distributions and probably the biggest Debain-based distro. While other Linux distros like Fedora tend to be geared towards power-users, Ubuntu is designed to be as user-friendly as possible.

It's a lot easier to try it out than have it explained. It's totally free, and if you have a disc, you can burn a LiveCD to try it out without installing it on your computer.

70. archangel9 posted on 03 Jan 2013, 00:38 1

As what Michael said,I too use Ubuntu fully now for 7 years and it's the best Linux distro out compared to Fedora,Open Suse,etc. I recommend you download it and burn it on a CD AND YOU CAN DUAL BOOT on Windows or Mac OSX. Solid,stable,virus free and 100% UNhackable...

81. jroc74 posted on 03 Jan 2013, 18:03 0

Thats one thing I love about Linux, the Live CD's. I tried to make a multi Live CD disc one time...I gave up afer many months of trying to get it to boot right.

I know it might can be done with Windows, but its alot easier with Linux.

58. Tsoliades posted on 02 Jan 2013, 21:09 1

What Michael said.
Also, I know that there's an easy way to dual-boot through Windows with one easy installation- I did it myself until I ran into some major driver problems and had to uninstall.
It was pretty nice when it worked lol

26. PhoneArenaUser posted on 02 Jan 2013, 15:48 0

Apart performance improvements I don't see anything what would make me excited and that's why I have made a questin in comment #10. At the moment 4 thumbs down but still no one can say what is so exciting about this OS, seems like a "reasonable" excitement...

31. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:06 5

I use Ubuntu as my primary OS on my laptop, so the integration and possibilities of the first real universal platform are what excite me.

34. PhoneArenaUser posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:20 0

Since you use Unix-like operating systems, I agree, your reason seems valid.

+1

• This comment is posted in response to #31 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #31 Hide

36. jroc74 posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:31 1

Whats your opinion of Win 8 and that scenario? Isnt that what MS is trying to do?

• This comment is posted in response to #31 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #31 Hide

37. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:49 2

That's exactly why I got excited about the "shared Windows core" when that was announced, but so far, we haven't seen it in action. WP is a nice option, but it's still trailing behind on features, and the integration with Windows 8 is mostly through SkyDrive. The integration with Ubuntu looks a lot more interesting because you can see how you transfer your phone instance to a desktop in the moment.

• This comment is posted in response to #36 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #36 Hide

41. jroc74 posted on 02 Jan 2013, 18:56 0

Oh ok. I dont keep up with WP, Win 8 news in detail. I thought it was already in use. I was curious when you said "first real universal platform"...lol.

This phone might make me break out some uBuntu this weekend.

• This comment is posted in response to #37 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #37 Hide

45. shuaibhere posted on 02 Jan 2013, 19:21 0

Agreed..

27. iCandy posted on 02 Jan 2013, 16:20 0

Regarding the reference in the post regarding Qt; will this use Qt or GTK? I believe Unity is currently a variant of Gnome 3 built with GTK, no?

75. kdealltheway posted on 03 Jan 2013, 06:09 0

They've switched to qt a while back.

32. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:10 2

That's why I'm curious as to what Canonical will consider to be a "success" for Ubuntu going forward. So far, being one of the most popular Linux distros has been enough, even if that means being less than 1% of the overall PC market. That's not an outlook that we tend to call successful in mobile though.

33. MichaelHeller posted on 02 Jan 2013, 17:19 1

FYI, I've emailed Canonical about this, so I'll definitely be writing asi find out more

77. kdealltheway posted on 03 Jan 2013, 06:18 1

Thanks, there's a lot of us interested in this kind of subject regarding linux. I'm mostly intrigued with the acceptance within linux society. FYI (phonearena followers) animosity between ios and android fans is nothing compared to a longlasting distro war in linux comunity.

• This comment is posted in response to #33 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #33 Hide