Canonical took the wraps off its Ubuntu mobile operating system. Ubuntu for Android combines the Android mobile operating system and the Linux-based desktop OS, so when you dock the handset you get the full desktop OS. Ubuntu is expected to start shipping these devices in late 2013. The mobile version of Ubuntu is built around Google's Android OS and it promises to take advantage of multi-core handsets to bridge both the mobile experience of Android and the productivity of the Ubuntu desktop experience. So you can have one address book, inbox, set of bookmarks, call log, and more in one device. You'll be able to dock (or undock) your phone to a keyboard, mouse, and large monitor to seamlessly switch from mobile to desktop mode.
According to the Ubuntu Phone FAQ the first Ubuntu phones are expected to ship in late 2013 in Western Europe first, with features such as unique gestures for app switching, universal search, and built-in voice commands.
And indeed, until very recently, Android was Linux's main contender in the mobile world. Yes, there have been others coming and going--LiMo, Maemo, Moblin, and MeeGo, for example--but none of them have even approached Android in terms of traction. That's why this year's Mobile World Congress has been so striking. Announcements coming out of the show have made it perfectly clear that mobile Linux's days of being more or less completely dominated by Android are coming to an end.
Android is still going strong, of course--maybe even stronger than ever. But we seem to be entering a new era in which Linux is everywhere in the mobile world, including numerous non-Android alternatives.
I always prefer to have linux on mobile, PCs and laptop. I am running Technology News blog to catch the aspect of technology in future. The mobile world has been good to Linux, whose Android derivative has enjoyed a success that few could have predicted just a few short years ago.
