Ubuntu Linux is coming to mobile phones, entering the hotly contested phone OS marketplace alongside Apple iOS, Google's Android, Microsoft Windows Phone and BlackBerry.
Phones running Ubuntu are not expected to be available until 2014.
Canonical, the parent organisation controlling Ubuntu development, announced the availability of design concepts, development tools and technical details for Ubuntu on smartphones, the culmination of the OS strategy to offer a unified platform for any device.
"Today there are many different devices for personal computing: laptops, tablets, smartphones - and we use completely different interfaces for them, even when they come from the same company," said Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Canonical. "All of these devices are just different faces of the same thing. You have apps, content, contacts and messages, and you need to access them in a way that suits your situation. We set out to create something completely new."
Ubuntu on smartphones promises to offer a unified interface experience across PCs, tablets and phones, which sounds a lot like a mirror of Microsoft's interface goals with Windows 8 and Windows Phone, though Shuttleworth includes Microsoft among examples of uncoordinated interfaces.
Key Ubuntu phone features demonstrated in Canonical's introductory video include several interface innovations, such as using the screen edges to swipe between menus, running applications and notifications. Shuttleworth promises strong support for HTML5 apps as well as native apps, with development tools already available for download.
As Linux devices, phones running Ubuntu would benefit from the standard Linux tool chain, and access to Canonical's cloud services and device management platforms, which may win some interest from enterprise users, app developers and service providers.
Android ties
This is the second major phone-related announcement for Ubuntu. In February 2012, Canonical introduced Ubuntu for Android, which will allow Android phones to offer a full Ubuntu desktop environment when docked with external peripherals.
Ubuntu for phones, in contrast, is a complete phone operating system. However, it does use Android OS kernels and drivers, allowing it to run on the same handset hardware.
Although the Ubuntu phone demo is slick and the reception has been largely positive, some major questions loom: can Ubuntu gain any traction against the incumbent smartphone juggernauts of iPhone and Android, and the potential of Windows Phone? And will developers embrace yet another ecosystem for their apps?
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