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Ubuntu Phones Now Available Worldwide (On Some Networks)

Posted by Soulskill on from the migrating-marmoset dept.

An anonymous reader writes: When Canonical's phone-centric adaptation of Ubuntu first made it onto devices last year, it received a mostly "wait-and-see" reception. For anyone outside Europe, they didn't have much choice, since it was unavailable elsewhere. Now, BQ has opened sales of the Ubuntu phones worldwide. That said, the devices still have technological restrictions. "Both of these devices support GSM bands 850, 900, 1,800 and 1,900, as well as UMTS 900 and 2,100 — so you're not going to get any joy if you're on a CDMA network like Verizon."

11 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. What software? by Blaskowicz · · Score: 2

    What programs does it run? Can I run a bash terminal out of the box? Is it possible in any way to run something like KDE for tablets, or a different GUI?
    Are the scopes any good for something if you disable privacy-violating features?

    What browser does it even use?
    I have many questions, in fact too many questions. Hard to know what the phone really is about.
    On the plus side it doesn't cost 500 or 600 euros..

    1. Re:What software? by dominux · · Score: 4, Informative

      it runs various QML programs and there are a bunch of web based things mildly optimised for it.
      Yes, you can run a terminal out of the box.
      No, you can't run KDE or a different GUI (well you probably can, but if you were going there this isn't a good starting place)
      The scopes are equally pointless with or without privacy violating things (and really, that is almost entirely bogus FUD anyway based on the misunderstanding that the global search box in Unity was an application launcher, those concerns don't apply on the phone (there is no global multi-scope search)). Scopes are just categories of things you can search for, they are not that exciting.
      It uses a browser based on QML and Webkit, it is called Oxide and they ripped off the Safari icon for it (compass needle pointing north east).
      If you know Ubuntu and have been using it avidly since 2006 and know Unity 7 really well, then forget all that you have learned because this isn't the same at all. It is a new phone platform, bit like Android or iOS with no clearly defined market. I have one, it is my one and only phone, it is OK, but really I am not very demanding and completely anti-social so I don't really need to have a phone at all :)

  2. Re:Which bands? by Dragonslicer · · Score: 4, Informative

    AT&T and T-Mobile are the big GSM carriers in the United States. Which bands do they use, so we can compare them against the bands compatible with the phone?

    I think T-Mobile uses the two of those four that are used in Europe, and AT&T uses the other two, but I may be a few years behind on my information. A quick search on Google says AT&T uses 850 and 1900. A phone that supports all 4 bands should work on both AT&T and T-Mobile.

  3. Any useful reviews? by Kludge · · Score: 3, Interesting

    How good is this Ubuntu phone?
    What windowing system does it run?
    Does it come with a terminal program like my N900?
    I can get root if I want it?

    Most reviews don't answer these important questions, and when I search on google, I just get ubuntu stuff.

  4. Re: Supported formats by amalcolm · · Score: 2

    Or, because, you know, NOT GOOGLE or MICROSOFT

    --
    Time for bed, said Zebedee - boing
  5. Re:Woo by amalcolm · · Score: 2

    Seems to me this could be competition gor Google, Microsoft and Apple, so it's a good thing. I guess it could pave the way for your favorite Linux distro to follow?

    --
    Time for bed, said Zebedee - boing
  6. No 4G by amorsen · · Score: 3, Informative

    Only 2G and 3G.

    --
    Finally! A year of moderation! Ready for 2019?
  7. Re:Which bands? by PhotoJim · · Score: 4, Informative

    This Ubuntu phone will work on AT&T and T-Mobile's 2G GPRS/EDGE networks, but not their 3G/"4G" UMTS/HSPA networks and not their LTE networks. In other words... it will work, but data will be very slow.

  8. Re:Which bands? by unrtst · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This (and more) is the kind of information I fully expect to find in the article.
    I realize no one reads the articles, but I made the mistake of reading this one. The summary is just a (rather well done) paraphrasing of the entire article, which weighs in at 275 words (vs 87 for the summary), and it includes zero additional information; not even a link to a full article elsewhere!

    Thank you PhotoJim for the info. Personally, I'd appreciate it if there was a clear statement by the manufacturer, or the carriers themselves, and would like to have it detail exactly what limitations there are. I think I'd be ok with 3g. Otherwise, I think I'll just hope to find them on ebay to pick one up for wifi-only use.

  9. Re:Which bands? by unrtst · · Score: 2

    ... some additional info to save others the trouble:
    * BQ is selling them for €199.90 and €169.90 respectively (E5 HD, E4.5)
    * Engadget apparently converted that wrong. That is currently $223.82 and $189.21 respectively.
    * http://store.bq.com/gl/
    * ebay seems to have these at around $300 - $400 right now

  10. Re:They should have concentrated on desktop by t551 · · Score: 2

    QML is just a layout description language, sort of like a much better implementation of Android's layouts. It has a tiny bit of smarts, so you can write simple applications just in QML, but the general way it's used is that C++ code loads the QML layout, then selects and manipulates widgets within the layout (again, like a much saner reimplementation of Android's UI approach).