Now The Ubuntu OS Has Come To Smartphones!

All you linux users and developers out there: Go Crazy! The popular linux-based OS Ubuntu has now come to smartphones. Offering a customizable, open-source platform on the smartphone, the OS is sure to attract developers around the world who are tired of using their iOS or Android platforms. The most noticeable feature about the Ubuntu phone OS is that there are no capacitive buttons, and everything is controlled by swipe gestures, similar to Windows Phone 8. Settings are brought up by a swipe from the bottom of the screen. Another selling point for developers to switch over to the Ubuntu Phone OS is because there is a central repository for all apps, which work across both desktop Ubuntu as well as smartphone Ubuntu. Also, Ubuntu is deeply integrated with HTML5, which means any new web properties can be ported over to Ubuntu as an app quickly. Canonical is also trying to lure OEMs to use Ubuntu by promising to work with them to deliver customized versions of the OS with branding from the OEMs and a custom touch. Another selling point of the Ubuntu Phone OS is that it runs across Intel x86 and ARM architectures. Ubuntu is also able to run on basic smartphone hardware, with a 1 Ghz Cortex A9 being the basic CPU needed. Ubuntu also introduces a unified inbox, which contains emails,sms,social media posts that can be responded from the notifications window itself!

While this is an exciting prospect for developers due to Ubuntu being an open-source platform, it is too early to predict commercial success. In a smartphone market already packed with iOS,Android,BB10 and Windows Phone, Ubuntu only appears to cater to the niche segment of users who want to tinker with their phones and customize it as they please. The galaxy-nexus compatible build of Ubuntu should be available in the next few weeks, but Canonical has said it expects devices installed with Ubuntu Phone OS only to ship in early 2014.

What do you think about the future of Ubuntu Phone OS? Let us know in the comments section below!