Skip to main content

You Can Now Install Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview on Android Nexus Devices

Ubuntu devices

You have probably read about Ubuntu for smartphones in our earlier article about it. This is a groundbreaking new operating system that comes to smartphones from Canonical (the maker of Ubuntu). Ubuntu is one of the most popular of Linux distributions out there, among desktop computers. Now the platform is coming to smartphone world with the release of Ubuntu smartphones.

Yesterday, as expected, the developer preview of the OS was made available, with the source code and details of installing it on your phone. The version currently available is known as Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview. And this is important—Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview is only for developers and Ubuntu enthusiasts who want to try it out in real. It is not for an average smartphone user who doesn’t have good working knowledge of mobile operating systems.

Supported Phones & Tablets


Currently, Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview is supported only on Google’s Nexus line of devices, specifically Galaxy Nexus (Samsung), Nexus 4 (LG), Nexus 7 (Asus), and Nexus 10 (Samsung).

In order to install Ubuntu on your Android device, follow the steps and guidelines given at Ubuntu Wiki. Also, if you need to get Android OS back into the phone, you should have the appropriate image handy. Images can be found here.

What Do You Get?


Ubuntu is pretty limited in smartphone interface. It doesn’t have the capabilities like Android, and also it doesn’t have many apps for you to work with. This Developer Preview is intended only for Ubuntu developers and hard-core Ubuntu enthusiasts. If you install the OS, you get the following:
  • OS shell and basic apps
  • Phone-specific functions—connection to the operator, SMS, networking, & Wi-Fi
  • Working camera app for the front-facing and main camera
  • Accessibility through Android Developer Bridge
Thanks to QBKing77, I was able to get this video:



Conclusion


Ubuntu is highly enthusiastic about their move to the smartphone world. Canonical’s founder Mark Shuttleworth was quite a bit excited to share the news with the world. We have got our hands on the first of Ubuntu developer devices now, and we will soon see where the platform heads and how many apps it will gather. Competition is not easy now with BlackBerry 10 and upcoming Tizen.

Popular posts from this blog

The History of Microsoft - Page 1

Page 1 -   Page 2 - Page 3 - Page 4 My readers have been asking me around about the company known far and wide as Microsoft and how it came to be the top-most in computer technology. I thought it apt to make a post here detailing the story of Microsoft through its developmental stages. Two tech geeks, Paul Allen and Bill Gates, both dropouts from their respective universities, have managed to create this giant in computer software. Here it is, the history of Microsoft as a software company. I found a lot of information published by Wikipedia and other such sites to be wrong. I have managed to get the dates and events as accurately as possible here. The story of Microsoft begins when Popular Electronics published an article about the first personal computer. The First Year—1975 January 1 st 1975: The advertisement of the first ever personal computer—MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems) Altair 8800 appears on the Popular Electronics magazine. This is a d...

What Is the Role of a Firewall, and How Does It Secure a Network From Unsafe Traffic?

To understand firewalls, basic understanding of how networks function is requisite. Deep down, how do the packets of information that you send reach the intended receivers? How do the messages intended for you reach you safely? And how does it all function like clockwork? Let’s understand the basics of firewalls and see how a firewall secures the traffic in and out of a network. Consider this scenario for getting an understanding of how firewalls work. Say, you open up your browser to book a flight ticket for your upcoming vacation, and your computer is conveniently insecure without a firewall. Let’s say you come across an intriguing email that gives an offer you can’t refuse. You open the email and click a link, and bam! An unwanted piece of spyware is installed on your system. The spyware then proceeds to sit on your system tray, hidden from your eyes, tracking the keystrokes you make, reading the top-secret files you have, and looking for potentially rewarding information, such...

Is It Worth the Buy: Sony Xperia Tablet Z, the World’s Thinnest Tablet

Sony has been making and marketing tablets since April, 2011 . The Japanese tech giant made an entry into the Android tablet world with Sony Tablet S with the folded-newspaper design and Tablet P having two 5.5 inch displays. The entry however has not been quite profitable for Sony. Here is IDC’s global market share of tablets up until the fourth quarter of 2012, and in the statistic, Sony doesn’t even have its name. Apple and Samsung are the only OEMs turning any real profit out of tablet business. In these extreme conditions, Sony is coming up with a new tablet, Xperia Tablet Z. Xperia Tablet Z has been unveiled officially in the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona yesterday. Just as Sony’s upcoming flagship, Xperia Z smartphone , Tablet Z is also waterproof. Let’s check out the new tablet from Sony and see whether it can be a really good buy or not, based on the available data. Technical Specifications First of all, let’s check out the technical specifications of Xper...