Ubuntu Smartphone Shipping In October

An anonymous reader writes "Smartphones running the open source Ubuntu operating system will be available to customers beginning in October 2013, Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth told CIO Journal. Ubuntu will be available on a full range of devices, including desktop and tablet computers, potentially providing corporate IT executives a way to reduce the number of devices they purchase and manage, and would allow users to access all manner of corporate data through a single, pocket-sized device. 'You can share Windows apps to the phone desktop,' said Mr. Shuttleworth during a meeting in New York Tuesday." Jon Brodkin adds, "Canonical is taking community input on what the core applications (e-mail, calendar, clock/alarm, weather, file manager, document viewer, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) should look like. The best aspects of community proposals will hopefully make it into Ubuntu phones when they finally hit the market sometime toward the end of 2013 or beginning of 2014. Take a look at the best designs Canonical has received so far."

Comments

I'm sorry, but

[EliSowash]

I just can't get excited about this. Ubuntu on PCs isn't the holy grail of desktop computing, and between Droid and iPhone, I'm not sure what new-shiney Ubuntu brings to the smartphone table. Does that make me a bad person?

Re:I'm sorry, but

[icebike]

They never intend to be a big player, as best as I can tell, merely another option for corporate phones that don't end up being play things with untrustworthy software installed.

I think another option in the market is a good idea. Google is getting a bit too big for their britches and the carriers have way too much control of what you can do with your own phone.

We don't all run Apple or Microsoft computers, so why should we run only Apple or Google phones?

Re:I'm sorry, but

[Anonymous Coward]

Holy grail it may not be, and it's not about new shiny. It's a step up from what we have, and it's open enough to interoperate with other closed platforms without much trouble. Because choice and flexibility are good.

Re:I'm sorry, but

[Teun]

As long as they allow us to run KDE they'll remain successful.

Re:I'm sorry, but

[K. S. Kyosuke]

I'm not sure what new-shiney Ubuntu brings to the smartphone table

The ability to use a single codebase, in any language, to run on your desktop AND on your phone?

Re:I'm sorry, but

[TheGratefulNet]

I'm an android user, but only because I hate the rest. that said, I'm not at all in love with android, its design, its 'usability' and its poor app and o/s stability.

more choices is better and if you don't like apple or android, what are your options? dumb phones?

bring on more choices. I'd be happy to drop android for another. I have no dog in this fight but the usability issues I have with android make it a frustration exercise most of the time for me.

Re:I'm sorry, but

[DarwinSurvivor]

As someone with an n900, Android is not nearly as open as many people think.

Re:I'm sorry, but

[gmuslera]

As long as it is compiled for the processor the phone runs (i.e. ARM processor) any linux program should run. If is not in QML probably won't be as integrated with the "desktop" as programs meant for it, but should run. Maybe more interesting, you have QT/QML in your desktop, so programs for the Ubuntu Mobile will run in your desktop, and same for other programs meant for QT/QML (i.e. BB10 programs if recompiled in Linux, or sailfish, or kde plasma active), and if that pair of libraries are available for Android or even for iOS, could run on those platforms too.

Re:I'm sorry, but

[L4t3r4lu5]

As someone running an AOSP ROM, I disagree. Your carrier's ROM may be crippled and shit, and they may be cagey about the drivers, but Android is open.

Exchange

[DogDude]

It's a non-starter without seamless Exchange access. That's the #1 function of my phone. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Re:Exchange

[DogDude]

seamless:
Perfectly consistent: a seamless plot in the novel.

Exchange: The most widely used email/scheduling/office management server software on the planet: http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/en-us/default.aspx

access: verb (used with object):
To make contact with or gain access to; be able to reach, approach, enter, etc.: ie: Bank customers can access their checking accounts instantly through the new electronic system.

Re:Exchange

[TheGratefulNet]

my 50+ years of life and 30+ yrs of computing shows that PHB's use exchange and the engineers use regular old email (wanted to say sendmail, but we have gotton beyond that, right?)

Re:Exchange

[Engeekneer]

Well, I don't know about that. It depends on the target market. If it's a consumer phone, who cares about exchange?

No bloatware

[msk]

Don't install any bloatware and don't lock the bootloader or the SIM.

Arrows on keyboard

[Janek Kozicki]

I saw there one example of a terminal session. And that reminds me - one thing that aggravates me on ipad (jailbroken) when using midnight commander in terminal is that the arrows keys are missing! I cannot event use the bash history.

We definitely want the arrow keys on keyboard when in terminal mode.

Re:Arrows on keyboard

[Jorgensen]

So.. Ctrl-N and Ctrl-P ain't working for you?

Awesome...

[Panaflex]

As someone who has lived and worked in iPhone and Android land since the beginnings, I'm excited to see something new. Don't get me wrong - I like my iPhone and android for what they are - but having the option of getting into the code and fixing the stupid is a great incentive for me to switch.

Re:He said what?

[vlm]

Probably means it comes with the vnc (and/or tightvnc and/or rdesktop) client installed, whereas on my phone and tablet(s) I had to install it.

I find the idea of a "tech phone" with useful preinstalled stuff instead of crapware to be an intriguing idea. No angrybirds or facebook in rom, but gimmie a VNC / rdesktop / ssh client (preferably one that isn't harvesting logins and phoning home with them to the telco mothership). You could carry this to comic extremes like stereotypical techie background and theme instead of the blah they push to the masses.

Ya that's a bigge

[Sycraft-fu]

Many companies like to use Exchange for e-mail and calendar functions. Given that, having it integrate on your smart phone is important.

You can argue all you like that companies shouldn't do that, they do, and that is what matters.

Re:This might be taken as a stupid question:

[elashish14]

I believe it's using Qt and that they're working closely with the KDE Plasma team, however, I'm pretty sure they are not using KDE or Plasma. However, if you are interesed in a KDE tablet, I believe you can find more information here: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/01/new-kde-tablet-to-liberate-linux-enthusiasts-from-walled-garden/

Converged Phone/Laptop Device

[slaingod]

So for me the interesting idea is all about reducing the number of devices I need to maintain. Whether it is chrome os/android or ubuntu, or whatever, my interest is in having to maintain as few devices as possible.

Right now I have
Windows x64 Box #1: Old workhours/gaming/media desktop, mainly used for torrents, news, and to use Photoshop, etc when necessary.
Windows x64 Box #2: HTPC with Windows Media Center ('free' guide listings, works with cable card premium chans) (also important not to do too much besides HTPC for stability on this box)
Ubuntu x64 Laptop #1: Main device I use on a daily basis for dev work, etc.
Windows x86 VM on Ubuntu: Windows VM I use for photoshop, and other windows/osx only apps and for old drivers for scanners etc that dont have x64 drivers
Android Phone: My phone
Andoid Tablet: My tablet

I would love to have at most one or two OS instances I have to maintain. A Padphone/Phabet with Laptop dock, etc. may be the converged device that I can use in the future for my full dev stack.

Re:Exchange - Not buying in...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, my employer is a 100K seat global Exchange shop, and I don't "allow" it on my phone even though its WinMob 6.5 can do it just fine (unlike newer versions), and the corp IT policy allows it on that and on iPhone and Android 2.2+. My problems are that such access requires a too--cumbersome password (not just a 4-digit PIN), and quick lock timeout, plus the fact that about 85% of the email I get is "corporate spam" I have no use for (use lots of Outlook filters to send straight to trash, but most only run from the Outlook client when my PC is running - unlike our prior Lotus Notes that would run our filters on the Domino server), and the calendar entries are ridiculously verbose to view on a small screen (esp annoying is the wordy "boilerplate" disclaimer that Daylight Saving time offsets are not reflected in the event times on the item when in fact they ARE, and to it goes...).

I opted out of letting them control MY phone (cheap bastards are expecting BYOD to save a few bucks) by not even trying to access Exchange. I just manually put put terse reminders on my calendar for the dozen or so events I really need out-of-hours reminders for (I am on the corp PC most biz hours, and a lot of off-hours, too, for global intranet support), and if I must, I can view the full email and calendar info with Outlook Web Access (OWA) with most browsers over the open Internet, even from my personal Linux PC's. Works for me.

I also have a Dell Streak 5, rooted, and on cheap T-Mobile data plan, but it is mostly just a beltable data consumption device for me. I would like to see an alternative to Android and iOS (and WinMob 6.x) that would have the PIM functionality of WinMob 6.x, but a GUI as elegant and usable as my old Handsprings and Palms (T|X was sweet - just needed a few more capabilities). Ah, the joys of resistive screen writing with a stylus or fingernail (and, no, I am NOT being sarcastic - I hate the "twitchy" capacitive screens that my blunt fingertips keep misfiring on and smearing up.)

YMMV