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/#

by tanglesome • 13 years ago

122 60 13 years ago

news.cnet.com

TallGuyShort• 13 years ago

If it's Verizon, I intend to be their first smartphone customer :)

edit: mind you - I'm guessing this is a manufacturing partner, not a network / distribution partner...

sirkneeland3• 13 years ago

Yes, it is a manufacturing partner, since they've already announced network partners. I do wonder which manufacturer it could be...

amartya916• 13 years ago

This might be far-fetched, but I wonder whether it is Lenovo. Just saying because Lenovo's PCs and Servers have excellent Ubuntu support.

keithpeter• 13 years ago

Excellent for Canonical. I look forward to the day I can walk into the local phone shop and buy an Ubuntu Mobile.

Bit worried by the 'high end' qualification in the OA. I'd imagine Apple/Samsung have that sewn up, and the lower end in China/Asia has the volume. But we shall see.

programminggeek• 13 years ago

This would be amazing on a device like the Moto G or something similar. If they get this in the sub $200 or sub $100 price point with reasonable performance, it could be a real big deal.

georgemcbay2• 13 years ago

They should be able to hit the sub-$200 price point with one of their hardware partners, but that is hardly a differentiator these days now that the Moto G and the Lumia 520 are already there for Android and Windows Phone.

I'm personally mildly excited for the idea of a "real" Linux phone, if it carries out the concept of being a phone that can be used in desktop/laptop docks (which various people have attempted without success on Android phones) to serve as your one very portable computer. Also it needs to have a competent nav/driving app. Basically the sole thing that keeps me on Android these days is Google Maps, and Google has even been testing me with that since the dreadful redesign they did with 7.x.x.

voltagex_• 13 years ago

Don't the planned Ubuntu Touch phones (and the current Dev builds) run a modified Cyanogen kernel and a bionic-linked userland? (i.e. Android in Ubuntu-brown)?

As far as I'm concerned, the next Linux phone is the Jolla.

Zoomla• 13 years ago

Buy it used on Ebay and save a lot. But I think that Ubuntu touch has some qualities that make cost irrelevant.

winslow2• 13 years ago

"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."

I feel like Linux is a better contender now then it was in 2004. Or am I just in a "developers tech savvy world" and viewing linux as a viable contender now compared to the typical layman?

r-s• 13 years ago

They are simply wrong on this.

coldtea• 13 years ago

Nope, they are very right.

In fact, it was even earlier too, e.g all around 1999/2004, when Linux was discussed to win the Desktop "any day now".

There were even desktop targeted Linux distros backed by companies such as Corel, startups working on Linux desktop/office desktop stuff (like the Evolution email client or the Nautilus file browser), and skyrocketing Linux IPOs (VA Linux anyone). Plus several attempts at releasing pre-installed Linux PCs at places like Walmarts (that most people bought for cheap and converted to Windows).

georgemcbay2• 13 years ago

It was discussed (in tech media) much more back then ("This is the year of Linux on the desktop!" used in a non-sarcastic manner), but you're right in that it is actually more viable today than it was then, mostly due to Microsoft shooting itself in both feet in the interim.

It is still unlikely Linux will achieve any sort of mainstream adoption (for a few reasons, including Ubuntu following a very Microsoft-like policy of going all-in with touch at the expense of UX for traditional desktop users, continued fragmentation of the various distros, etc), but at least these days it isn't nearly as surprising to learn some of your more casually tech savvy friends use Linux as it would have been back then.

derefr2• 13 years ago

I wouldn't be surprised if Linux achieved a majority-share in the Desktop PC market... caused by the Desktop PC becoming completely irrelevant to consumers. (If only developers own PCs, and the majority of developers use Linux, then the majority of PCs will run Linux.)

kllrnohj• 13 years ago

Linux went mainstream ages ago. First with TiVo, now with Android.

GNU/Linux + X11 + Gnome/KDE never went anywhere near mainstream, perhaps, but Linux sure as hell did.

rtpg• 13 years ago

as someone who uses Ubuntu as their main OS, I don't really find the OS that touch-centric. If anything, it's a lot more similar to OSX than Win8.

Shorel• 13 years ago

Apple OSX came and gave us a good Unix UI.

Nowadays, OSX is seen as the alternative to Windows more than Linux is.

However, in some years the Valve's Steam support can make Linux the OS for gaming enthusiasts everywhere.

dragonwriter2• 13 years ago

I feel like Linux is a better contender now then it was in 2004. Or am I just in a "developers tech savvy world" and viewing linux as a viable contender now compared to the typical layman?

For the typical layman, what matters is mostly "can I get it and use it without thinking about it", which is, really, more about major vendor (both hardware and app developer) adoption than it is about substantive features. Insofar as Linux is a contender there, for the average individual user, its largely in the form of ChromeOS rather than traditional desktop linux distros, not because ChromeOS is more feature appropriate, but because of its backing.

There is a reason Microsoft is running negative ads about ChromeOS and not about, say, Ubuntu.

From a development perspective, Linux has been adequate as a main OS for a long-time, though better virtualization solutions make having to choose one OS full-time -- or use comparatively awkward dual-boot solutions -- less a reality.

jolohaga• 13 years ago

Can't wait for a BSD phone

wcfields• 13 years ago

They already exist, there's a small fruit-named company that happens to make them.

TkTech• 13 years ago

Are you thinking of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bada ? I've never heard of a purpose-built BSD phone other than those (although there are plenty of unofficial ports)

pianoben• 13 years ago

I can't bring myself to get too excited; with so many details unknown, this smells strongly of the vapors.

That said... I'm still holding out for the Ubuntu One, or something like it.

fidotron• 13 years ago

This could really turn into a messy war versus the crippled but strangely compelling ChromeOS, which once croutoned becomes radically more useful. Something that doesn't have those restrictions out of the box is going to have a clear advantage.

The problem from a dev point of view is just what security model for apps are they going to go with? I haven't seen any discussion about the exact details for how they plan on managing the app packaging, separation and permissions fun that exists on mobile today.

shurcooL• 13 years ago

As soon as there's a powerful mobile device that comes with a Terminal as a first class citizen and lets me compile/run Go programs, I'm ditching my iOS device and getting that.

bobbles• 13 years ago

I really wonder whether this is going to be a partnership with Xiaomi...

after Hugo Barra went there from Google and made this quote "“If I do my job right, in a few years, the world will be talking about Xiaomi in the same way that they talk about Google and Apple today.”"

It appears the company will be gearing up for a big smartphone release in 2014, which would also fit into the timelines here.

Xiaomi tends to be known for the high-performance low-price phones, but have always had poor software letting the devices down.

seferphier• 13 years ago

that would be awesome.

Xiaomi sells their smartphone at cost and monetizes customers through add on services. I'm not quite sure what add on services they can add on Ubuntu.

drill_sarge• 13 years ago

I think/hope it will be some of those "chinese phones" which is quite interesting. Even the big ones of them like Huawei, make really good phones for good prices. Thats why I did not understand the hype about this Motorola thing for 200 bucks or something. Those china guys do this for quite a while and are now really pushing here (europe) in the market with really quality and competitive phones.

arunoda• 13 years ago

Waiting for it.

nsxwolf• 13 years ago

Is Ubuntu Touch OS the same thing as Ubuntu for Android? It's not clear on their site.

Danieru• 13 years ago

They are different. Ubuntu for Android is for running a desktop Ubuntu from a phone plugged into a monitor. Meanwhile Ubuntu Touch is the stand-alone mobile OS.

notnowlewis2• 13 years ago

Touch is both desktop and mobile. You have a full mobile OS, but plug it into a monitor and you have a full desktop OS.

kriro• 13 years ago

Great news, I think once you get one others will follow if it's good enough. I've been rooting for the Ubuntu Phone ever since they released that marketing video with the docking station. That really hit a nerve for me...gogo let me buy one in 2014 :)

This also means I'll not get a Nexus/Nexus 4 for xmas now (solely for Ubuntu stuff, I own another smartphone) because I'll just wait a bit. I was somewhat set on tinkering but thankfully there's other tinkering projects.

yaph• 13 years ago

Alcatel seems to be open to experiment, they already have a FireFox OS phone out and they are based in France.

tehwalrus• 13 years ago

I await news of the handset specs excitedly - I'm going to be upgrading sometime next year and I hope Ubuntu will be a viable alternative.

Ubuntu Touch OS wins its first smartphone partner

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