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Ubuntu Phones To Feature Wireless Display Support With OTA-11 Update (softpedia.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the cable-management dept.

prisoninmate writes from a report via Softpedia: The moment you've all been waiting for is almost here, as you will no longer need a cable to connect your Ubuntu Phone to your TV or a supported LCD monitor. Canonical will soon release the OTA-11 software update to supported Ubuntu Phone devices implementing the Aethercast (also known as Miracast or Display Casting) technology that provides Wireless display support to Ubuntu Phone devices, but only for Meizu PRO 5, which comes with out-of-the-box wireless display functionality. Some other features of the OTA-11 update include: the adoption of the NetworkManager 1.2 network connection manager, an updated VPN feature with username and password authentication support, a pre-loaded Home Scope which will allow for a faster startup, multiple application windows, and subtitles in the header. In addition, the positioning in location service has been greatly improved, Dynamic Grid Unit (DGU) support is now available, and many bugs have been fixed (squashed). You can view a list of the devices that support the OTA-11 update here.

UPDATE 5/31/16: The report has been updated to clarify that the Meizu PRO 5 is the only device that supports wireless display functionality out-of-the-box.

16 of 31 comments (clear)

  1. Marketshare? by sjbe · · Score: 1

    The moment you've all been waiting for is almost here, as you will no longer need a cable to connect your Ubuntu Phone to your TV or a supported LCD monitor.

    All three of you who own one... Seriously is the market share for these things into triple digits yet?

    1. Re:Marketshare? by BenJeremy · · Score: 1

      I suspect the number of people (outside of a few developers) who have BOTH Ubuntu phones AND a "supported TV or Monitor" is roughly zero.

  2. Users by ArchieBunker · · Score: 4, Funny

    I bet more people are running NetBSD right now than this phone!

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  3. (squashed)? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

    and many bugs have been fixed (squashed)

    Why did you add "(squashed)"? Does it convey some additional meaning that "fixed" doesn't cover?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:(squashed)? by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      Yes. Fixed implies cleaned up and all problems disappear. Squashed implies that there's a smudge on the wall and your wife will get angry at you for not cleaning up the mess... kind of the standard way for the Ubuntu team to handle bugs.

  4. Squashed bugs? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    >> many bugs have been fixed (squashed)

    Kind of like squashed bugs in real life, can we assume that the crap code's still in there, but now no longer as noticable?

    1. Re:Squashed bugs? by Buchenskjoll · · Score: 1

      As anyone, who has squashed a spider on white wallpaper, knows, bugs become far more noticable when squashed.

      --
      -- Make America hate again!
  5. Online accounts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They should add the ability so sync contacts and calendars using CardDAV and CalDAV.

    This has been an issue for some time, the discussion between Ubuntu Phone users has been going on for a while, as can be seen here, for example.

    A related bug report (open since 2013) can be seen here.

    For now, a Google account is the only option the GUI allows to sync contacts and calendars. If you're doing that, what is the point in using Ubuntu on the phone, might as well use Android.

    I'm aware that syncevolution can be used on the phone's command line but really, adding an OwnCloud server (for example) should not require enabling developer mode and adding scripts setting up cron jobs. This very simple omission is what's keeping me from using Ubuntu on the phone. I'd quite like to keep my data from Google or Apple or Microsoft and I fail to see why the management team behind Ubuntu Touch can't see this use - I know I'm far from the only one.

    By the way you can easily install Ubuntu on a Nexus 4 using the images provided. It's a fairly ok to use - certainly miles ahead of FirefoxOS - but I was hoping they would have implemented this by now, I first tried it at release 9 so they've had 2 major opportunities to enable it.

  6. Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Yay!... ...said all five people with Ubuntu phones.

    1. Re:Yay! by flacco · · Score: 2

      Don't forget the three of us who have Ubuntu tablets.

      --
      pr0n - keeping monitor glass spotless since 1981.
  7. Never seen one by PmanAce · · Score: 1

    As one of the few who had a Windows Phone 7 (and actually released 5 apps to the wild), I've never heard or seen someone use an Ubuntu phone. What advantages does it offer, why does it exist? I know I got a Windows Phone because I love coding in C# and could do it as a hobby, but Ubuntu?

    --
    Tired of my customary (Score:1)
    1. Re:Never seen one by FatRatBastard · · Score: 3, Informative

      I run it on an old Nexus 4 for shits and grins. Basically the only advantage that I can see (and the only reason I haven't wiped it off the Nexus) is I think the "hook the phone up to a monitor/keyboard and turn it into a computer" is the next big step in mobile computing. Whoever gets it right first will have the advantage. Microsoft is trying with Continuum, and Ubuntu has their version. Android has their home grown merging of ChromeOS/Android, plus third party things like RemixOS, and it looks like Apple are moving OSX and iOS closer to each other as well.

      Odds are Ubuntu won't be the winner but its interesting to see where they're going with their phone OS.

      Other than that, though, there's no compelling reason to use it. App ecosystem is basically barren, and there's nothing compelling about the UI to recommend it above all the other options.

  8. Re:how about supporting basic features first by higuita · · Score: 1

    my wife uses one ubuntu phone and complains about this:

    - no draft in sms. If you start to write e text, you have to send it or you will lose it
    - she uses google task with dates and they show up in google web interface in the calendar as events, but while ubuntu phone do synchronize the calendar, it do not synchronize the tasks and they never show in the ubuntu phone calendar
    - the contact synchronization will fetch google contacts, but it not merges/remove duplicates, so right now she have about 5 contacts for each person

    Other than that, it works well now... it had some crashes, but are getting a lot better in each release, Bluetooth was broken with toyota cars

    --
    Higuita
  9. Re:how about supporting basic features first by Scarred+Intellect · · Score: 1

    - she uses google task with dates and they show up in google web interface in the calendar as events, but while ubuntu phone do synchronize the calendar, it do not synchronize the tasks and they never show in the ubuntu phone calendar

    She's not alone, though this is a Google Calendar issue, not Ubuntu: Clicky. As far as I know, this issue is still relevant.

    I use(d) tasks to schedule all my bills; since they don't sync easily, I instead set them all to be all-day events, and they show up at the top of each day similar to how a task would display. Fairly simple workaround, but I was annoyed that I had to do it.

  10. All three ubuntu phone users rejoice! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Yup, all three of those ubuntu phone users must be super happy now.

  11. Patents by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    How is this phone going to make it on the open market where the likes of google and apple and MS have been inundated with patent lawsuits?

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none