Canonical announces plans for Ubuntu Mobile

Filed under: OS Updates, Linux, Open Source, Canonical

Canonical announces plans for Ubuntu Mobile

by Brad Linder Feb 26th 2008

Canonical has posted some more details and a bunch of pictures of Ubuntu Mobile, a version of the popular Linux distribution designed for mobile computers using Intel's Silverthorn processor like the Samsung Q1U Ultra. We've known for a while that Ubuntu Mobile was in the works, but it looks like the operating system is coming closer to an official release. Source code is available now, but we wouldn't recommend installing it on a unit you use regularly unless you're willing to risk erasing all of your data.

Ubuntu Mobile will include touch-screen support and large icons so you can navigate with your fingers and no stylus. The interface is designed for 4.8-inch through 7-inch screens with resolutions from 800 x 480 pixels to 1024 x 768 pixels. The default web browser is based on Firefox and supports Flash 9, Java, and pretty much everything you'd need to access modern web sites.

Some of the applications will include:

Skype with Video support
Audio and video players
An email client with support for POP and IMAP
An RSS Reader
PIM software

You can check out sample pictures of some of the applications, but there's a chance the application interface could be redesigned before the final release.

[via Canonical]

Tags: ubuntu, ubuntu-mobile

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

CUBSWILLWIN said 7:31PM on 2-26-2008

I'd be looking forward to that alot. Symbian killer anyone?

The_Steven said 7:32AM on 2-27-2008

Carputer anyone?

Albert said 7:37AM on 2-27-2008

Is this a Google Android Killer??

Brad Linder said 8:02AM on 2-27-2008

From what we can tell, Ubuntu Mobile is targeted at UMPCs and ultraportable laptops like the Asus Eee PC, not at cellphones or PDAs. Not that I wouldn't love to see a branch of Ubuntu that could run on a cellphone, but the architecture of cellphones is very different from that of a UMPC, which means it would take a lot more work.

Eleon Gonzales said 9:07AM on 2-27-2008

Any chance this will install on a Nokia 770?

mario said 12:23AM on 2-28-2008

i want a cell phone with ubuntu , hurry up i want one

pasi said 12:06PM on 3-13-2008

I just bought me an asus eeepc with Xandros Linux installed. Xandros is good but I guess UBUNTU Mobile will be the better choice for the future because software installation and deinstallation is easy and the software archive of Ubuntu is bigger and well assorted. I'm looking forward to Ubuntu Mobile :-)

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