Ubuntu Mobile Phone OS released for the Galaxy Nexus

[rmwebs]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20891868

Looks like Shuttleworth wants a piece of the pie!

More competition I suppose, but I hardly doubt anyone will be buying a Nexus just to stick Ubuntu on it.

It'd take some serious backing from the likes of Samsung willingly allowing it before it could even be considered to be a contender.

 

[3bs]

I read the Galaxy Nexus was the only officially supported device?

I'd definitely buy one to try it out or maybe it's smarter to just wait for a phone that comes pre-loaded with Ubuntu.

 

[rmwebs]

Oops. I think I had a bit of a brain fart there.

Sure I read it was the s3. My mistake! I've updated the thread title.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

It's about damn time. This is only the begining. I'll probably get a used Samsung Nexus on craigslist just to test it out.

 

[ChazUK]

Once the source code is released for this, I do hope developers jump all over it.

I'm not fancying the chances of open WebOS now though that even more players are getting in to the smartphone game. Tizen, Firefox OS, Ubuntu...

It's getting very crowded in the smartphone arena!

 

[maflynn]

I don't see this gaining any traction and I'm not sure if carriers will be all that hot to add on another platform. It seems RIM convinced many of the carriers to push BB10, so there's android, iOS, win8 and now ubuntu

The company has no track record when it comes to providing a bug free small OS that will run smoothly on a phone. I'm not saying it won't but there's no track record

 

[lsvtecjohn3]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cpWHJDLsqTU

I think they did a great job on the OS. I'm very interested in it

 

[bembol]

Just finishing watching the video on The Verge.

I'm impressed.

 

[TehFalcon]

Its Beautiful O_O

 

[GreyFoxx]

I like this!

 

[maflynn]

Here's a dose of cold water on Ubuntu phones, straight from the verge which I think many of these things have been touched on in this thread.

The first proper Ubuntu phone isn't expected until the tail end of 2013, with a realistic retail launch date in early 2014.That's if you consider a retail launch realistic at all. Think back to all the other promising upstarts we've witnessed over the past few years: Palm's webOS wowed attendees at CES in 2009, just as Canonical hopes the new Ubuntu will do this year, but the Pre took too long to get to market and was eventually swept aside by Apple's imperious iOS and Google's better-distributed and -priced Android alternatives. Or how about MeeGo Harmattan, arguably the greatest achievement of Nokia's software team, which too was discarded because of an inability to stick to a competitive roadmap. Both those laudable operating systems were considered slow to reach store shelves because it took them months — Ubuntu for phones is proposing to take over a year.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Here's a dose of cold water on Ubuntu phones, straight from the verge which I think many of these things have been touched on in this thread.

But in the meantime we'll see Ubuntu ROMs popping up to be flashed on multiple devices? Yes? No? Maybe?

 

[Vetvito]

It does look great. 4th place maybe 3rd is wide open for anyone right now.

android, IOS, RIM, and ?

 

[QuarterSwede]

Just finishing watching the video on The Verge.

I'm impressed.

Same here. I really love the gestures, especially how to get to status bar settings (swipe down) and hide the UI/fullscreen apps (swipe down at the bottom). Those is freaking brilliant. I hope it does well because I think they did a bang up job on UX. Because everything is better with pictures:

Status Bar Settings:

Showing/Hiding UI:

I also think Shuttleworth did a great job on the "keynote" presentation. Really engaging. I went in thinking, "21 minutes!? No way I'm watching it all" and ended up watching all the way through to the end of the phone presentation (about 6 min before the end). Impressed.

 

[maflynn]

But in the meantime we'll see Ubuntu ROMs popping up to be flashed on multiple devices? Yes? No? Maybe?

Maybe from what I've seen in this thread its only set for the N4 right now. I'm having a hard time getting my brain wrapped around the idea of a desktop OS for the phone. I know its highly customized for the phone but I'm not seeing the advantage of ubuntu over android

 

[QuarterSwede]

Maybe from what I've seen in this thread its only set for the N4 right now. I'm having a hard time getting my brain wrapped around the idea of a desktop OS for the phone. I know its highly customized for the phone but I'm not seeing the advantage of ubuntu over android

The UI is fresh. It's the same reason people were excited about WebOS. Plus it's another competitor. Competition means the consumer wins.

 

[Vetvito]

Not N4, Galaxy Nexus.

 

[knucklehead]

Not N4, Galaxy Nexus.

I'm a bit confused about this. Why are they talking about carriers introducing Ubuntu phones? That seems a bit of a stretch to me ... but what do I know???

Wouldn't it be more like the desktop OS, where users install it themselves?

I'm interested in seeing more of this -- plus it's inspired to try installing Ubuntu on an old MacBook of mine. Did that briefly years ago, and it looks like it's worth checking out again.

 

[Vetvito]

They will have phones by 2014. It's a open OS.

 

[knucklehead]

They will have phones by 2014. It's a open OS.

That's what I'm not getting.

There aren't Ubuntu computers -- there are computers that have had Ubuntu installed on them.
People aren't waiting for 2014 when the Ubuntu computers will come out.

 

[knucklehead]

OK - All I can think is that locked phones are currently considered the norm(?), which would require carrier adoption of the OS.

Any reason Ubuntu would not become available for something like the Nexus 4?

 

[QuarterSwede]

That's what I'm not getting.

There aren't Ubuntu computers -- there are computers that have had Ubuntu installed on them.
People aren't waiting for 2014 when the Ubuntu computers will come out.

You're thinking correctly. The dev release is either out now or supposed to be soon. Anyone with a Nexus 4 can install it.

I'm waiting for someone to port it to the iPhone. It would be fun to play with at least.

 

[3bs]

I really look forward to trying this on my Nexus 4. The question is can I connect it to my MBA or do I have to get a separate display.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iv1Z7bf4jXY

 

[maxosx]

I read the Galaxy Nexus was the only officially supported device?

I'd definitely buy one to try it out or maybe it's smarter to just wait for a phone that comes pre-loaded with Ubuntu.

I'm with you.

Always one that enjoys exploring and having a first hand experience with new technologies, mobile operating systems and the like, this will be one very interesting phone to run through it's paces.

 

[rans0m00]

I'll have to wait and see how easily I can go back to android if I dislike Ubuntu... If it's just a matter of a quick flash then ill be trying this out as soon as I can.