Ubuntu Smartphone Introduced At CES 2013

Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux operating system, has announced a new version of Ubuntu designed specifically for smartphones. The new ubuntu smartphone demo was released at Consumer Electronics Show 2013 .Mark Shuttleworth the man behind ubuntu said that he expected to make the most progress with the Ubuntu Phone in the developing world, where smartphone sales are only just beginning to take off. .  Ubuntu, will offer as martphone version of Ubuntu that allows a handset to function as a PC when docked.

“I think carriers are looking to try us out in emerging markets,” said Shuttleworth, who noted that Ubuntu is already a household name in some of these markets due to its use on desktop and laptops PCs. “We ship on 30 percent of Chinese PCs today,” said Shuttleworth, including models from Dell, Lenovo, and HP. “If you go into a store in India, you will see Ubuntu branding,” he added. “It’s a very easy transition for us there.”Shuttleworth said he believes phone manufacturers will test the waters with Ubuntu by releasing a version of an existing Android phone with his OS installed, but under a different model name

Ubuntu Phones will be freely available  as an open-source software. Canonical coördinates development of Ubuntu and makes money by offering paid-for support to companies using it, with many companies around the world using Ubuntu to run Internet and Web server It will be built around the kernel Google created for its Android mobile software.

Developers will be able to create applications for Ubuntu phones using either HTML5 or native code. Unlike some other smartphone platforms, including Android, Ubuntu does not include a Java virtual machine, which Canonical says reduces overhead and allows the OS to deliver good performance even on low-end hardware.

Because Ubuntu for phones is based on the same core OS as Ubuntu for the desktop, however, developers will be able to use the Ubuntu Software development kit to build native applications that run across phones and desktops alike, with only minor User Interface changes for different device form factors.

The new OS will also be backed by Canonical's Ubuntu One cloud service.

The ubuntu phones are likely to be released in 2014.However this year the company plans to partner with Android smartphone makers to ship the first devices featuring “Ubuntu on Android,” a solution that lets you dock your Android phone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to use your phone as a full-fledged desktop computer.

The link to the ubuntu phone trailer is given below

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone