The latest OS to hit the cell phone market, Ubuntu OS, is creating quite a stir. Though it has many obstacles in its way, there are also many things that are in its favor as well, one such thing being its attractiveness.
Its tagline on the website states, Introducing a super-phone that’s also a full PC, which seems a bit delayed given its late start and entry into a highly competitive OS market. However, it still has a real shot to make it big in the smartphone industry.
According to the company’s website, Ubuntu has a more immersive interface, is less cluttered, and has a natural flow from one app to another using edge magic technology. The phone becomes a full PC when docked. The phone is industry-ready with all native core apps and no java overheads.
It works well with entry-level smartphones and has the same drivers as Android. Developers are also at an advantage and can create countless creative apps with their SDK (Software Development Kit) which helps re-purpose apps faster so that they look and feel the same as their native cousins.
It has one OS for all form factors. Therefore, one app can have interfaces for both phone and desktop in just one upload. Ever since the parent company, Canonical, announced about Ubuntu for phones, there have been mixed reactions from the trade pundits.
All in all, Ubuntu has some challenges that it has to overcome to be pitted against Android and iOS, but it also has some plus points that work in its favor to give it a real shot at becoming a success.
Here are 5 things that work to its advantage:
- Unity Interface – it has an attractive interface which seems really meant to be for ouch interfaces, which gives it’s the best advantage.
- Easy upgradability – Ubuntu can be constantly upgraded, unlike Android.
- Carrier customization – carriers will be able to easily customize their own apps into the Ubuntu interface. So how is it easy to upgrade to the latest version? Simple, by keeping carrier optimisations in user space and out of the core OS itself. This is best for both the carriers and end-users.
- Desktop software compatibility – the core functionality of tens of thousands of apps sis readily available. Ubuntu is providing programmers with QML widgets for quick interface development. So this means that every Linux programmer can be a smartphone programmer, and it’s going to have thousands of apps ready even before it ships.
According to Canonical founder, Mark Shuttleworth, Ubuntu gives carries two models wherein they can first market Ubuntu cheaply to low-end phones which will matter most to second and third world countries and in the second model which is a high-end one, users will be able to use top of the line Ubuntu smartphone both as a phone and a desktop, similar to what the tablets are doing these days. Community manager Jono Bacon of Ubuntu says,
“No one loves their Android phone, we want to build a phone that users will love: One that will be more beautiful than Apple and as powerful as Android but with the open -source legacy of Ubuntu.”
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for this one and eagerly await its release, which isn’t expected until the end of 2013 with a realistic launch date in early 2014.
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