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Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

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Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#81

Post by polshaw »

vibrunazo wrote: post #43
StavrosK wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How could they? This isn't Android, it's an entirely different OS. If it ran Android apps, it might as well be a custom launcher instead.

They had a working prototype that would run Android and Ubuntu side by side. Would work as a standard Android phone. But when you dock it to the desktop, it's a 100% capable Ubuntu computer, sharing resources with Android. That was perfect. It's the best of both worlds, I'm sure it would be a huge hit. Leverage both the Android mobile ecosystem + Linux desktop at once? That was genius. But instead they chose the gree…

Motorola were the only OEM to have interest in ubuntu for android.. they took it, and completely ruined it.[1] There was no greed on canonical's part. I'm not sure whether i'd prefer 'android+ubuntu', or this 'ubuntu for all the screens' (existing ecosystem with mature OS vs a real free, unified desktop+mobile OS), but they aren't dropping either, apparently. I do wish they would allow the developer community access to their builds, though. I want it now!

1. see webtop; also look on XDA to see how to partially restore it to canonical's idea.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#82

Post by rbanffy »

pajju wrote: post #55
subway wrote: post #28

Oh great, another Ubuntu for %s with no shipping devices. I really wish Canonical would partner with some OEM to actually produce some of these devices instead of just announcing they have software while expecting hardware OEMs to come running. I'd even be happy if they produced a firmware for use on the GN or N4.

Excellent point, they must have strong tie-ups with OEM partners, who can make in-expensive devices, otherwise its not going anywhere.

They may package the distro Cyanogenmod-style.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#83

Post by css771 »

fluidcruft wrote: post #46
justincormack wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think having anti-fork rules on the Android kernel would violate the GPL, so that couldn't happen...

The golden handcuffs are your ability to ship Android's userland (including access to use of trademarks and Play Store). If Google shuts you out, you're out. Ship all the linux kernels you want. Technically, you can probably ship something based on pure AOSP, but your competitors will have had pre-AOSP access to the code for multiple months and there are no guarantees that AOSP even works without Google's magic propr…

> there are no guarantees that AOSP even works without Google's magic proprietary mojo

What do you mean by this? If you mean in the market, it can work. Amazon's devices are proof. If a manufacturer is shipping just AOSP, it needs to have a working complement to Google's suite of apps or it needs to have a different value proposition altogether.

> CyanogenMod had to develop the missing pieces when Google sent their C&D over the proprietary bits

What "missing bits"? They were shipping Google's suite of proprietary apps on top of their AOSP-based ROM and they stopped after the C&D.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#84

Post by TylerE »

jmaygarden wrote: post #64
TylerE wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I were to do that with an Ubuntu phone, though, I'd have access to much more mature productivity software built for the desktop. Sure you COULD, but serious productivity software is written to make maximal use of input devices. Keyboard shortcut usage is often not optional. That isn't going to translate to a touchscreen, or even a slide-out microkeyboards.

I think you missed the "throwing a bluetooth or usb keyboard + mouse on" part.

Ok. So now how are you putting the screen at a readable distance and angle?

At the point you're carrying around a keyboard anyway, why not just have a Macbook Air?

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#85

Post by rdtsc »

muuh-gnu wrote: post #60
zanny wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bullshit, people still need to make things. Make emails, edit videos, edit photos, write documents. These aren't business class activities, but touch screens are insufficient for that function. I don't see people lugging around a laptop anymore, but I easily see people plugging their phone into a display, throwing a bluetooth or usb keyboard + mouse on, and expecting a productivity environment from that device. The h…

> edit videos, edit photos, write documents Canonical doesnt produce video, photo and document editing software. The market's refusal to port that software to Linux has essentially killed it on the desktop for a majority of users. If they dont want to port, there is absolutely nothing Canonical can do about it. A new player cannot simply enter a new market and without effort get a significant part of it. The only thi…

Well Canonical doesn't produce those things by default they just bundle whatever the latest and greatest open source offering is. Which sucks compared to the professional choices out there on Mac and Windows _but_ is better than what is available on Android OS perhaps.

So in theory this a good move. In practice though, they have a huge mountain to climb. They have to market the hell out o f this and they have to provide a comparable experience to mature and battle tested mobile OSes.

I am all behind them and support them and this phone is probably something I would love as a developer (as I feel like my hands are tied when using Android) but I am afraid this will end up in a very small and irrelevant niche.

First and foremost is to ask so what major cell carrier is going to support this. If the answer is none then well we know the future of this.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#87

Post by hollerith »

rdtsc wrote: post #79
simonebrunozzi wrote: post #12

This is a good thing, but having known Canonical and Ubuntu since the start (2004), I would really love to see them succeed in the desktop market first. This initiative will de-focus their efforts. I admire them, and wish them good luck anyway.

I think they already realized that the desktop market is shrinking. Come to think of it, in my extended family I don't even know anyone who bought a desktop computer in the last 4 years. A few people got a laptop, lots of smart phones and tons of tablets. So if they are going to wait to succeed on the desktop it might be too late. As fewer and fewer people will care about the desktop by that point.

>I don't even know anyone who bought a desktop computer in the last 4 years. A few people got a laptop

I'm pretty sure that when grandparent wrote, "desktop," they meant to include laptops.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#88

Post by css771 »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #68

This announcement baffles me a little bit. An Ubuntu Phone? Why did they choose to announce a phone OS and not a tablet? Phones are light communication devices for sending brief messages, checking social statuses or updating them. Ubuntu is a full featured OS used in creating and consuming long-form content. If they are hoping to engage with existing OEMs I think they would've had a much better time of it with compan…

I think the reason for that is that they want to target the developing world with low end smartphones primarily. Not everyone will go for a tablet. But everyone needs a phone. The growth is still primarily in phones in the developing world.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#89

Post by macspoofing »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #68

This announcement baffles me a little bit. An Ubuntu Phone? Why did they choose to announce a phone OS and not a tablet? Phones are light communication devices for sending brief messages, checking social statuses or updating them. Ubuntu is a full featured OS used in creating and consuming long-form content. If they are hoping to engage with existing OEMs I think they would've had a much better time of it with compan…

>Phones are light communication devices for sending brief messages, checking social statuses or updating them ...

... in 2005. Phones are powerful computing devices, and they are big business.

Re: Canonical announces Ubuntu for smartphones

#90

Post by buster »

mladenkovacevic wrote: post #68

This announcement baffles me a little bit. An Ubuntu Phone? Why did they choose to announce a phone OS and not a tablet? Phones are light communication devices for sending brief messages, checking social statuses or updating them. Ubuntu is a full featured OS used in creating and consuming long-form content. If they are hoping to engage with existing OEMs I think they would've had a much better time of it with compan…

Ultimately this leads to my dream of only carrying a phone with all my stuff on,going to work, place it in a dock and start working with the phone as my PC replacement.
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