Meet ‘Ubuntu for Android’ – a side-by-side pairing of the Android and Ubuntu OSes on a single phone, the latest part of Canonical’s ‘multi-device’ future for Ubuntu.
When in your pocket the phone is the same as it always was: an Android device. But when the connected to a monitor (by way of a nifty looking dock) it launches into a fully fledged Ubuntu desktop running the Unity interface.
Both OSes share the same kernel – so this isn’t a case of an ‘Ubuntu’ app running atop Android or vice versa. Both run at the same time on the same device. The net result of this is a super efficient workflow.
With emphasis on the super.
Data and settings are consolidated and shared between the OSes; you can see and reply to SMS notifications through Ubuntu’s Messaging Menu; make and receive calls directly from the desktop; and search through your unified contacts in the Ubuntu Contacts Lens or through your Android address book.
You can even run your Android apps on the Ubuntu desktop (albeit in a special window).
200 Million Users in 4 years
When Mark Shuttleworth set a goal for 200 million Ubuntu users by 2015 many scoffed – by that was until he began laying out Ubuntu’s multi-device plan. In many countries mobile phone sales dwarf those of PC sales –
“The desktop is the killer-app for quad-core phones in 2012″ says Mark Shuttleworth. “Ubuntu for Android transforms your high-end phone into your productive desktop, whenever you need it.”
You can find out more about Ubuntu for Android on the official website @ ubuntu.com/devices/android.
Just don’t expect to get your paws on one of these just yet.
Much like the recently unveiled Ubuntu TV the current incarnation of the Ubuntu for Android is a prototype. Manufacturers and interested parties are being encouraged to speak to Canonical if wanting to take advantage/learn more about the technology.