This announcement is in line with previous comments from Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth, who said that the company planned to bring Ubuntu to phones and tablets with the release of Ubuntu 14.04, which is expected in April 2014.
Now it has been confirmed that Ubuntu 14 will be a universal operating system, capable of running on both mobile devices and traditional PCs. In today’s announcement Shuttleworth also said that Ubuntu for phones is being built from ground up, and offers a crisper, sharper experience on low-end devices. Ubuntu for phones is expected to feature a lean mode, which will allow it to run on an A9 ARM processor with 1GB of Ram and a heavy mode aimed at high-end hardware.
Shutterworth believes that the low-end devices will encourage adoption like Android, especially in emerging markets, but by offering a less complex user experience than the competition.
Canonical will also target enterprise and high end markets by converging Ubuntu on mobile and traditional desktops. A process we have previously seen in demonstrations of Ubuntu for Android, where a phone doubles as a computer,when it is docked. While Canonical did state that Ubuntub1.04 will be compatible with a typical Android Board Support Package,there was no news on which hardware partners would be involved in manufacturing the first Ubuntu phones.
As demonstrated in the trailer, Ubuntu for phones is heavily dependent on gestures. The Unity bar can be accessed from the left, allowing you to get to your apps. Swiping down from the top reveals various options, including, Messaging, audio options, battery info and connectivity settings. The operating system is expected to support native apps, along with web apps and HTML5 apps.
These apps will be made available through the Ubuntu Software Center which will allow customization options for partner apps, content and services. Operators and OEMs will also be able to customize their brand offerings accordingly.
Canonical hopes to keep a unified system, allowing manufacturers to focus on hardware design and integration.. But since Ubuntu is an open source operating system it it uncertain how well this will work out in practice.
A QML toolkit and application SDK are expected to be released next week and developers will be able to create a single app with a smartphone and desktop interface. Canonical has also promised to release images for the Google Galaxy Nexus to be released within the next few weeks for developers to be able to test the operating system.
You can watch the full Ubuntu Phone keynote below
Until now Ubuntu has built a name for itself as a desktop platform. its attempt to penetrate the smartphone market will be highly dependent on the support it receives from the developer community. Its design and usability show that the platform can easily win over support from hardware partners, but developer support seems to be the key requirement for a platform to grow in popularity in the modern post PC era.
source: OMGUbuntu | Arc Technica | Ubuntu (YouTube)