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Ubuntu coming to Android smartphones
It's very interesting to see wwhat Open Source software does with mobiles these days. Canonical released a developer preview Ubuntu for Android, a new shell for Android smartphones that turns the phone into a "webtop" when plugged into a PC. Ubuntu on Android devices looks and feels like normal Android when operating in a mobile context.
But when plugged into a Ubuntu machine (PC) they become a "webtop" a second-desktop of sorts; mirroring the Unit user-interface (Unity UI) of the parent Ubuntu install.
While this may sound like a mirror gimmick, the neat part for enthusiasts is that you'll get full (or likely close to full in release devices) control of the file system, allowing you to shuffle files onto and off of the devices more freely.
Further, all the desktop switch occurs natively inside a modified version of the Android kernel, so unlike other experimental efforts to put emulated Linux distros inside virtual machines on Android courtesy of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), there should be little if any performance penalty.
The official release of Ubuntu for Android is slated for early 2014.
bobdude
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Posts: 1949
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#4492616 Posted on: 01/03/2013 05:13 PM
oh this is going to be fun
oh this is going to be fun
Year
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Senior Member
Posts: 11594
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#4492752 Posted on: 01/03/2013 08:50 PM
my main OS has been Ubuntu/Linux Mint for the past 4 years, i use Windows only to play games, i'm never going back to Windows as main OS, Linux does all i need and more whether it's web, music, movies, , work, only thing missing is proper gaming, looking forward to the day i can play real games from big developers on Linux and by the looks of it this could happend in the near future and that's great news.
as for Ubuntu on Android, definitely curious.
my main OS has been Ubuntu/Linux Mint for the past 4 years, i use Windows only to play games, i'm never going back to Windows as main OS, Linux does all i need and more whether it's web, music, movies, , work, only thing missing is proper gaming, looking forward to the day i can play real games from big developers on Linux and by the looks of it this could happend in the near future and that's great news.
as for Ubuntu on Android, definitely curious.
deltatux
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Posts: 19051
Joined: 2009-01-25
#4492756 Posted on: 01/03/2013 08:55 PM
I don't see how Canonical is going to attract mainstream consumers, especially the ones who have amassed a rather large library of paid apps. Unless they can run Android apps on it, I doubt they can attract them except for the more technically inclined user or ones who freeload anyways (by only downloading free apps).
Personally, I can't fully transition without sacrificing my library as I do have paid items on my Google Account, plus, I have no issues with Android. However, I do want to try Ubuntu on phones.
deltatux
I don't see how Canonical is going to attract mainstream consumers, especially the ones who have amassed a rather large library of paid apps. Unless they can run Android apps on it, I doubt they can attract them except for the more technically inclined user or ones who freeload anyways (by only downloading free apps).
Personally, I can't fully transition without sacrificing my library as I do have paid items on my Google Account, plus, I have no issues with Android. However, I do want to try Ubuntu on phones.
deltatux
EspHack
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Posts: 2361
Joined: 2010-01-03
#4492781 Posted on: 01/03/2013 09:52 PM
agree^
unless they can run android apps on it, i cant see any reason to use it instead of android
agree^
unless they can run android apps on it, i cant see any reason to use it instead of android
Year
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Posts: 11594
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#4492792 Posted on: 01/03/2013 10:06 PM
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
here's what i think..
if it's going to be Ubuntu to Android phones then i'm sure android apps will run on ubuntu phones, this way you get best of both worlds, the power & benefits of linux ubuntu + added bonus.. Android apps compatibility.
if on the other hand they meant ubuntu smartphones (generic meaning for your typical touchscreen phone) then i guess android apps won't run because ubuntu phones will be in a category of its own and the market will have 4 smartphones choices, iOS, Android, W8 and.. Ubuntu where every platform got its own market and apps selection.
but imho since the article clearly says Ubuntu to Android smartphones and not just ubuntu smartphones (big difference).. i think its gonna be ubuntu + android apps compatibility.
maybe i'm overanalizing everything but to me the clue is in the title.
Ubuntu to ANDROID smartphones which smells like a Canonical/Google deal to me $$$.
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
here's what i think..
if it's going to be Ubuntu to Android phones then i'm sure android apps will run on ubuntu phones, this way you get best of both worlds, the power & benefits of linux ubuntu + added bonus.. Android apps compatibility.
if on the other hand they meant ubuntu smartphones (generic meaning for your typical touchscreen phone) then i guess android apps won't run because ubuntu phones will be in a category of its own and the market will have 4 smartphones choices, iOS, Android, W8 and.. Ubuntu where every platform got its own market and apps selection.
but imho since the article clearly says Ubuntu to Android smartphones and not just ubuntu smartphones (big difference).. i think its gonna be ubuntu + android apps compatibility.
maybe i'm overanalizing everything but to me the clue is in the title.
Ubuntu to ANDROID smartphones which smells like a Canonical/Google deal to me $$$.
The Chubu
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Posts: 2540
Joined: 2009-12-29
#4492793 Posted on: 01/03/2013 10:08 PM
unlike other experimental efforts to put emulated Linux distros inside virtual machines on Android courtesy of the Java Virtual Machine (JVM)
Wait, what? Emulating Linux through JVM? wtf? How does that even works?
Ven0m
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#4492810 Posted on: 01/03/2013 10:31 PM
It would be also cool if it didn't send search data to Amazon.
It would be also cool if it didn't send search data to Amazon.
Tat3
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Posts: 11507
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Posts: 11507
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#4492852 Posted on: 01/03/2013 11:45 PM
Based on the direction Ubuntu has been going on desktops and late news why would someone want to put that to their phones and actually use it ?
Based on the direction Ubuntu has been going on desktops and late news why would someone want to put that to their phones and actually use it ?
-=WolverinE=-
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Posts: 75
Joined: 2012-10-03
#4492868 Posted on: 01/04/2013 12:22 AM
Good luck running this POS on a sub $600 phone. You can check the requirement on their site...
Good luck running this POS on a sub $600 phone. You can check the requirement on their site...
deltatux
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#4492932 Posted on: 01/04/2013 02:36 AM
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
here's what i think..
if it's going to be Ubuntu to Android phones then i'm sure android apps will run on ubuntu phones, this way you get best of both worlds, the power & benefits of linux ubuntu + added bonus.. Android apps compatibility.
if on the other hand they meant ubuntu smartphones (generic meaning for your typical touchscreen phone) then i guess android apps won't run because ubuntu phones will be in a category of its own and the market will have 4 smartphones choices, iOS, Android, W8 and.. Ubuntu where every platform got its own market and apps selection.
but imho since the article clearly says Ubuntu to Android smartphones and not just ubuntu smartphones (big difference).. i think its gonna be ubuntu + android apps compatibility.
maybe i'm overanalizing everything but to me the clue is in the title. Ubuntu to ANDROID smartphones which smells like a Canonical/Google deal to me $$$.
They are Ubuntu smartphones, it's just that the Ubuntu Mobile OS can run on Android hardware is all. The prototype they've been showing off is Ubuntu Mobile on the Galaxy Nexus which they're going to release the image for you to flash on your Galaxy Nexus soon.
The first batch of Ubuntu smartphones are just Android phones with the Ubuntu OS, they're then working with hardware vendors to make phones that have been designed with the OS in mind.
Wait, what? Emulating Linux through JVM? wtf? How does that even works?
The person you quoted was mistaken, while there are efforts to run desktop Ubuntu on your phone, it's actually not through JVM. It's actually just running the Ubuntu desktop atop the Android kernel (hence why the phone must be rooted for it to work)
deltatux
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
here's what i think..
if it's going to be Ubuntu to Android phones then i'm sure android apps will run on ubuntu phones, this way you get best of both worlds, the power & benefits of linux ubuntu + added bonus.. Android apps compatibility.
if on the other hand they meant ubuntu smartphones (generic meaning for your typical touchscreen phone) then i guess android apps won't run because ubuntu phones will be in a category of its own and the market will have 4 smartphones choices, iOS, Android, W8 and.. Ubuntu where every platform got its own market and apps selection.
but imho since the article clearly says Ubuntu to Android smartphones and not just ubuntu smartphones (big difference).. i think its gonna be ubuntu + android apps compatibility.
maybe i'm overanalizing everything but to me the clue is in the title.
Ubuntu to ANDROID smartphones which smells like a Canonical/Google deal to me $$$.
They are Ubuntu smartphones, it's just that the Ubuntu Mobile OS can run on Android hardware is all. The prototype they've been showing off is Ubuntu Mobile on the Galaxy Nexus which they're going to release the image for you to flash on your Galaxy Nexus soon.
The first batch of Ubuntu smartphones are just Android phones with the Ubuntu OS, they're then working with hardware vendors to make phones that have been designed with the OS in mind.
Wait, what? Emulating Linux through JVM? wtf? How does that even works?
The person you quoted was mistaken, while there are efforts to run desktop Ubuntu on your phone, it's actually not through JVM. It's actually just running the Ubuntu desktop atop the Android kernel (hence why the phone must be rooted for it to work)
deltatux
unknown1140
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Posts: 71
Joined: 2006-06-14
#4492934 Posted on: 01/04/2013 02:38 AM
Wait, what? Emulating Linux through JVM? wtf? How does that even works?
It is not emulation, it's virtualization. Two totally diferent things...
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
Yeah, the news is kind confusing here... The Ubuntu to Android is kind old news, it runs side by side with Android sharing the same kernel, but it has not been launched yet. The Ubuntu Smartphones is the real news. It has been announced in the first day of this year and is the biggest news from Canonica...
Based on the direction Ubuntu has been going on desktops and late news why would someone want to put that to their phones and actually use it ?
Because you can run almost any original x86 application in the arm version of linux. This way you can have almost anything (useful) in your phone, and it been officially supported by a big company is a great deal...
Wait, what? Emulating Linux through JVM? wtf? How does that even works?
It is not emulation, it's virtualization. Two totally diferent things...
the article's title = Ubuntu to android smartphones.. it's not ubuntu smartphones.. there's quite a difference.
Yeah, the news is kind confusing here... The Ubuntu to Android is kind old news, it runs side by side with Android sharing the same kernel, but it has not been launched yet. The Ubuntu Smartphones is the real news. It has been announced in the first day of this year and is the biggest news from Canonica...
Based on the direction Ubuntu has been going on desktops and late news why would someone want to put that to their phones and actually use it ?
Because you can run almost any original x86 application in the arm version of linux. This way you can have almost anything (useful) in your phone, and it been officially supported by a big company is a great deal...
deltatux
Senior Member
Posts: 19051
Joined: 2009-01-25
Senior Member
Posts: 19051
Joined: 2009-01-25
#4492936 Posted on: 01/04/2013 02:40 AM
Because you can run almost any original x86 application in the arm version of linux. This way you can have almost anything (useful) in your phone, and it been officially supported by a big company is a great deal...
If the software is open sourced already, all you really need to do is just to recompile them to ARM (though optimization to the ARM architecture would be wise though).
deltatux
Because you can run almost any original x86 application in the arm version of linux. This way you can have almost anything (useful) in your phone, and it been officially supported by a big company is a great deal...
If the software is open sourced already, all you really need to do is just to recompile them to ARM (though optimization to the ARM architecture would be wise though).
deltatux
scoutingwraith
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#4493000 Posted on: 01/04/2013 06:07 AM
This looks a lot like Meego and WP combined. I am curious about its battery life compared to android's. Lets see when they release the image/rom
This looks a lot like Meego and WP combined. I am curious about its battery life compared to android's. Lets see when they release the image/rom
Year
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Posts: 11594
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#4493076 Posted on: 01/04/2013 10:19 AM
They are Ubuntu smartphones, it's just that the Ubuntu Mobile OS can run on Android hardware is all. The prototype they've been showing off is Ubuntu Mobile on the Galaxy Nexus which they're going to release the image for you to flash on your Galaxy Nexus soon.
The first batch of Ubuntu smartphones are just Android phones with the Ubuntu OS, they're then working with hardware vendors to make phones that have been designed with the OS in mind.
deltatux
oh i get it now, thanks
so almost certainly no android app compatibility with Ubuntu, bit of a bummer indeed, but then again it wasn't totally unexpected.
i'm still interested in Ubuntu based phones, perhaps the thing that's going to make it or break it will be the apps selection, but imo i think Ubuntu phones are going to be more successful than W8 phones, mainly because Linux is under the hood which makes the OS very dependable and cost effective, and because so far linux/unix based phones such as Android and iPhones has been a huge success since the start, and Ubuntu phones won't be any different.. or at least it shouldn't.
also more competition is a good thing since consumers will be able to pick a W8/iOS/Android/Ubuntu depending on their needs and preference.
They are Ubuntu smartphones, it's just that the Ubuntu Mobile OS can run on Android hardware is all. The prototype they've been showing off is Ubuntu Mobile on the Galaxy Nexus which they're going to release the image for you to flash on your Galaxy Nexus soon.
The first batch of Ubuntu smartphones are just Android phones with the Ubuntu OS, they're then working with hardware vendors to make phones that have been designed with the OS in mind.
deltatux
oh i get it now, thanks
so almost certainly no android app compatibility with Ubuntu, bit of a bummer indeed, but then again it wasn't totally unexpected.
i'm still interested in Ubuntu based phones, perhaps the thing that's going to make it or break it will be the apps selection, but imo i think Ubuntu phones are going to be more successful than W8 phones, mainly because Linux is under the hood which makes the OS very dependable and cost effective, and because so far linux/unix based phones such as Android and iPhones has been a huge success since the start, and Ubuntu phones won't be any different.. or at least it shouldn't.
also more competition is a good thing since consumers will be able to pick a W8/iOS/Android/Ubuntu depending on their needs and preference.
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bring. it. on.