A new contender on the Mobile OS market

With Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android mobile operating system dominating the cellphone market, introducing a new operating system is quite a task. Even a multi-billion dollar company like Microsoft could not keep with the two competitors. It seems that these two operating systems have rooted themselves deeply into the minds of users, and just like what happened with Google’s social networking site, Google+, users rarely want to give up something that they have grown accustomed to.



But now, a new contender threatens the mobile OS market with an OS fabricated from the desktop operating system, Linux. Developed by the same company that brings us the Ubuntu operating system, Canonical, here comes the mobile version of Ubuntu.[break]





Ubuntu for Phones promises to bring a completely new experience to the way people use mobile phones but also offers plenty of new features. Canonical is also working on a phone that also houses Ubuntu for phones, called the Ubuntu Edge. Ubuntu Edge currently depends on an ongoing Indiegogo project which, Canonical says it will fund the hardware of the phone but the software, like all Ubuntu and Linux projects, will be free and open-source.



One of the biggest features of the Ubuntu Edge would be a new concept that Canonical calls “desktop convergence,” a feature that lets you boot into the full desktop version of Ubuntu when connected to the monitor. Although Canonical is not the first company to try their hands at a mobile/desktop hybrid, unlike Motorola’s 2011 phone Atrix that could be booted into a Ubuntu operating system while docked, it has presented significant drawbacks.



Ubuntu Edge has been promised the latest multi-core processor, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Equipping a phone with such high specifications could cause significant problems on the hardware design aspect of the phone. It would be thick and heavier than any phone on the market today. So how Canonical handles these problems is yet to be seen. Canonical has also promised some awesome build details, like the sapphire crystal screen that’s almost impossible to scratch.



Apart from the phone, the mobile Ubuntu is being developed as a separate project and the success and failure of the Edge project seems to have no effect on the development of Ubuntu for phones. The feature that all users have been keeping their fingers crossed for would be the desktop Ubuntu boot. But this feature only seems to be present in the Edge, which comes with an 11-pin MHL connector that interfaces with any HDMI monitor to provide a full-HD resolution.



Now, moving on to the software of the Ubuntu for Phones, the first screen that greets you on the Ubuntu is not the conventional lock screen but rather a home screen that provides you with all your information from missed calls to the latest tweets on your Twitter. The home-screen also doubles as an application launcher with some of your favorite applications. Ubuntu works to get rid of the tap on touch-screens and replaces them completely with gestures, so a quick swipe from the left side will prompt the launcher that many desktop users of Ubuntu will be familiar with. One tap on any of the application icons, and your desired application will boot up instantly. This gives Ubuntu a slight edge over the previous operating systems because of the fact that applications can now be launched directly from the lock screen.



Ubuntu also seems much smarter because it shows you your most important information first, like the contacts app shows you people you’ve been most in contact with first. Even most commonly used setting like the Wi-Fi option or the 3G option are easily accessible on the Ubuntu with a quick slide on the top of the screen, a carousel of most commonly used settings show up and a simple drag down on the setting that you want brings it up on full screen. Bringing up the phone dialer also has been simplified by the launcher, brought up by the left swipe.



Ubuntu is designed very well, and although a mobile OS, Ubuntu for Phones doesn’t lose the essential feel of its desktop counterpart. This OS is also designed in a way that maximizes screen space, doing away with any kind of button, which means the phone depends entirely on gestures and swipes that take you to places on the phone. The native-apps are very well designed on a flat white background with eye-catching orange buttons that play excellently with the design.



Ubuntu for Phones is definitely a mobile OS to look forward to. The initial feel of the OS seems very impressive as a smooth and intuitive system.



But the fact remains that how well can Ubuntu fare in the mobile OS market and whether Ubuntu will be picked up by a handset manufacturer or even if their Indiegogo project will be funded. Ubuntu is currently released for the Nexus line of mobile devices, ranging from the Galaxy Nexus to the Nexus 10. Installing would, however, require flashing the ROM which may be a hassle for normal users. An early adoption of the OS seems very limited to enthusiasts, but if the Ubuntu Edge gets funded, there may be a phone and an OS that rivals the two mobile OS giants.



The writer is The Week’s much loved tech guru. Email us your tech queries at theweek@myrepublica.com and we’ll have him answer them for you.

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