Ubuntu Launches on Mobile

The Ubuntu Edge smartphone may have failed to see the light of day, but you can now create your own Ubuntu tablet or smartphone with the release of Ubuntu “Saucy Salamander” 13.10, the first Linux distribution to explicitly support smartphones and tablets (as well as desktop PCs).

Canonical, the development firm behind the release has published a how to, (as well as a complete list of compatible devices) for flashing your Android device to run Ubuntu.

Unfortunately, right now, all you get for installing Ubuntu is a web browser, a phone dialler, a messaging app, photo gallery app, and system settings. Obviously there are very few apps supporting Ubuntu right now and disappointingly, one of the Edge smartphone's most interesting unique features: the ability to plug into a monitor and run as a full blown desktop version, is also currently not working. 

Speaking to Gigaom, Richard Collins, Canonical's product manager for mobile said, “The desktop at this stage doesn’t fully support the new graphics architecture that is now enabled on the phone OS. It’s something we are working very rapidly towards.”

Despite this, Collins is confident in 13.10, stating that the release is “fully optimized and the base by which hardware manufacturers can begin to fully evaluate and plan hardware integration. The features and services now on our roadmap that will eventually take that capability to something comparable to Android can now be developed and run from here on." He added, “we will continue to make updates available almost on a daily basis.”

Source: Gigaom

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