Ubuntu for Android Announced

Following Cononical’s release of their Ubuntu TV, and their strategy for bringing Ubuntu more openly to the world, they’ve announced plans to port Ubuntu to Android phones. Although this may sound strange – it is. It will not be totally Ubuntu, or just a mere Ubuntu App – it will attempt to run the whole Ubuntu OS alongside the Android operating system. This will allow both OSs to share the same kernel and of course utilize the same content on both ends. They plan to make use of the increasingly popular model of “dock-to-PC”, which transforms the phone into a little computer when hooked up to necessary peripherals (mouse, keyboard & monitor).

As others have said, it’s an attempt to make two separate environments work separately, but perfectly, depending on the situation. You don’t have half phone/half PC. You have both to the full, effectively. It works like a phone, but when the time calls for it, it can magically transform into a desktop PC. (In a similar vein to the ASUS Transformer).

It also acts as a substation for TVs – transforming them into the Ubuntu TV hub. When approached about when they’ll ditch Android and switch over to Ubuntu full time, their response was “We’re not going to be announcing that at MWC 2012.”

This symbiotic approach to the smartphone/PC market is definitely not unique, but certainly when done in this manner is quite effective and should hopefully hold some promise.

Secure full-featured web

Sit back and enjoy a full desktop browser for multi-tab, multi-window web productivity. Ubuntu supports both Chromium and Firefox, the world’s fastest browsers, and is naturally resistant to web malware, which is why enterprises and governments are adopting Ubuntu on desktops.

Surf on the move with the Android browser, then dock to continue your session on the desktop. You get the same web pages, the same bookmarks and the same browsing history, with all the real-estate of a desktop. Using web applications with a full keyboard and mouse is so much better than a tablet when you’re at a desk, even in a hotel.

Another feature is the fact that you can still pick up calls and text messages on your ubuntu device while in Ubuntu mode. Furthermore the contacts on your phone are interchangeable with contacts in the desktop environment. To make it even better even the simplest of things is synced across; namely alarm clock times, Facebook and twitter logins, as well as all media stored on the device.

All devices are set to come with 10 apps as standard; VLC, Chromium, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Thunderbird, Gwibber, Pitivi, Ubuntu Music, Photo gallery and  Android dialer. All of these apps of course are necessary for a good experience, as is good hardware, so Canonical has set OEMs with stringent hardware requirements; 1GHz dual-core, 512MB RAM, 2GB free Space, Video Out.

We look forward to what comes next, but overall we feel anxious to see whether any OEMs will be willing to take a punt on this early stage of the Operating System. Overall we’re impressed and I’m sure there will be more where that came from later this week at MWC!

Source: TechCrunch

Will Daubney contributed to parts of this report.