Ubuntu on android handset or tablet?

[Smokey]

I've seen videos of this on youtube before. People managing to put Ubuntu on their android phones or tablets. Has anyone tried this yet? Is it practical to do? I really don't see a purpose for this to be honest, especially on a phone. I could see it having more purpose on a tablet so to speak rather then a cellphone but has anyone attempted to do this before?

 

[Rob]

Here's some good info on it: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

 

[Akendo]

That is really something new! Look very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jasserlin]

I don't know exactly what is required to do it, but I have used the bootloader on my android device in order to root it and untether it from a service provider. Once it was rooted, I saw that it was a Unix flavor of some sort. I also know that there are a number of ARM processor based linux distros so it would likely be a matter of replacing one image with another and ensuring the bootloader picks up the new image.

 

[Smokey]

Thanks for the link. Definitely something I might try if I ever pick up a cheap android tablet. I wouldn't wanna test this on my transformer or anything but perhaps if I pick up a cheaper android tablet in the future for ~$300 i'll give it a shot.

 

[mrnothersan]

That definitely looks good, and I hope that comes out soon, as it looks like a great OS to have on a phone!!

 

[Renzaku]

Oh, wow. I really never knew you could do this on a phone. This really just makes me want to spend a lot on an Android, but I'd be so afraid to mess it up, haha.

 

[psufootball]

I wouldn't do this simply because there are some really great apps that are Android-only... wouldn't want to lose that. Plus I would fear loss of compatibility with my phone.

 

[scotty]

It is possible you just have to download the linux handler from the andoid market. A lot of Pen Testers do this using Backtrack so that they can have their tools with them wherever they go. From what I have seen, it runs very well, and is very usable provided you can root the phone. My Samsung Galaxy will not connect to my PC in a way I can root it so I keep trying...but I am getting no where

 

[Godric]

I don't really see the point of changing your android to ubuntu. What do you want to accomplish by doing that?

 

[scotty]

Well like I said above, you do not need to replace Android, you actually supplement it, its kinda linux on the go app. A lot of Pen Testers, will use this to quickly do a security test when they enter an organization. A lot of organizations do not ban phones in their sever rooms etc, so the Pen Tester can show why banning is a good idea. It is kinda like, always having your tools with you, just incase.

Apparently it runs really well, and isn't a memory hog. You can also concurrently switch back and forth, so say for example, you are hacking the server room from your Android, and your boss is like, what are you doing? You can simply exit out the app, and show im your text messages.

I think the most uses are for either security people, or their arch Nemesis, the humble hacker.

 

[Darwin]

I have not tried it yet, but I think you are tempting me. It will grow as the Linux boffins get on what to do with it. I heard about a new cell or Tab that will be an Unbuntu OS, should be interesting.

 

[linbgs]

Here's some good info on it: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

Oh wow thanks for the information that is neat. Would the phone carrier be able to provide support for the device if there are any errors with Ubuntu loaded on it? Thats the only thing that I worry about when modifying anything is what will happen if it crashes...who can I go to?