Canonical has announced a smartphone interface for its Ubuntu open source operating system ahead of the CES show in Las Vegas on 8-11 January. Canonical CEO Jane Silber said she expected Ubuntu to be popular in smartphones for the high-end enterprise market, where it is the biggest Linux enterprise desktop, by enabling a single secure device for all phone, PC and thin client functions. She also expects strong demand for Ubuntu to be used in basic smartphones for phone, SMS, e-mail and internet access. Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth expects smartphones running Ubuntu OS to reach market in 2014.
Ubuntu for mobiles uses all four edges of the screen in its “Edge Magic” feature, which allows thumb gestures from every edge to find content and switch apps more quickly. It also features deep content immersion, with controls that appear only when users want them, a global search for apps, content and products, voice and text commands, native and web or HTML5 apps, and evolving personalised art on the welcome screen.
Canonical provides engineering services to make it easier to build phones with Ubuntu, maintaining multiple code bases that have proven to be a common issue for smartphone makers. The company already offers Ubuntu for Android, a solution providing a full desktop experience on Android phones docked to a screen and keyboard.
