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Having a Terminal application will make the Phone more appealing to coders and old school Linux users. I fail to see how this will make the Ubuntu Phone more appealing to the average user. EDIT: Apparently saying something that goes against the current on HN will start a shit storm (downvotes, obviously).
Not everything has to be for the benefit of the "average user" whoever they are.
Coupled with a powerful processor and plenty of spare solid-state memory, Ubuntu Phone will allow me to walk around and travel with my entire desktop environment in my pocket -- including round-the-clock access to everything available in official and third-party Ubuntu repositories.
(Have you ever needed access to an editor, language, database backend, etc. when you happen to be without a laptop? No problem, Ubuntu Phone will allow you to install and run all these things on your phone.)
Want to have a look into their mockups? https://ubuntu.mybalsamiq.com/projects/ubuntuphonecoreapps/g... (found on the link)
Unfortunately, it seems to have been mocked up by someone who doesn't know the difference between a terminal and a shell :( I would rather they concentrated on making a decent standards-compliant terminal emulator and didn't have to hack up the shell to accommodate it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not everything has to be for the benefit of the "average user" whoever they are.
Agree, my point was that this will remain a niche phone.
Having a Terminal application will make the Phone more appealing to coders and old school Linux users. I fail to see how this will make the Ubuntu Phone more appealing to the average user. EDIT: Apparently saying something that goes against the current on HN will start a shit storm (downvotes, obviously).
IMO, to build a successful smartphone that is appealing to the average user, that smartphone will require a base of desirable applications.
I see basically two routes to attempt to achieve this:
1) Build a phone that is so desirable to average users that app developers will find it profitable to develop for it (eg, iPhone).
2) Build a phone that is so desirable to developers that many will pick it up regardless of the profitability of the market. Then hope that these apps are of sufficient quality/desirability that they become part of making the phone desirable to average users.
#1 is incredibly difficult to achieve right now due to the maturity of the market, with two major players. Even Microsoft is having a tremendous amount of difficulty with this route. For Canonical, I believe it would be effectively impossible.
With #2, getting to step 1 (modest developer adoption) is easy. Where it often breaks down, is in getting the developers to build apps that aren't just appealing to them (eg, more terminal apps, more ssh apps, more special purpose tools that appeal to geeks, etc). But modest developer adoption is better than no adoption at all, perhaps?
I honestly don't see Canonical having much success with this at all, but I don't think avoiding apps that are appealing to coders will help in their case.
Having a Terminal application will make the Phone more appealing to coders and old school Linux users. I fail to see how this will make the Ubuntu Phone more appealing to the average user. EDIT: Apparently saying something that goes against the current on HN will start a shit storm (downvotes, obviously).
Step 1: Get coders to use your device.
Step 2: Coders want their own apps to run on their own device, so they port them.
Result: Now your device has lots of apps and you've removed one of the most significant barriers to normal people using it.
As soon as Ubuntu Phone becomes stable enough for daily use, I will switch from Android to it. Coupled with a powerful processor and plenty of spare solid-state memory, Ubuntu Phone will allow me to walk around and travel with my entire desktop environment in my pocket -- including round-the-clock access to everything available in official and third-party Ubuntu repositories. (Have you ever needed access to an editor…
As soon as Ubuntu Phone becomes stable enough for daily use, I will switch from Android to it. Coupled with a powerful processor and plenty of spare solid-state memory, Ubuntu Phone will allow me to walk around and travel with my entire desktop environment in my pocket -- including round-the-clock access to everything available in official and third-party Ubuntu repositories. (Have you ever needed access to an editor…