Ubuntu For Android Phones

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A full Ubuntu desktop system running on your docked Android phone? This actually sounds like a brilliant idea, doesn't it? Hell, why stop at phones? Thanks to Asacolips for the link!

Complete desktop solution for full productivity on docked Android phones. Easy to integrate with existing Android phones in development. Certified apps for business users from Adobe, Citrix, VMWare and more.
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soon android can run crysis it seems like. phone is sure evolving fast.
 
That doesn't sound like a bad idea. The battery life will go to shit if you leave it plugged in an charging all the time though. I bet corporate users would whine a lot about that. Can't see this taking off in the home computing environment though.
 
Couple this with the horsepower of a Intel Medfield tablet.....dual booting Linux and Windows 8....
 
Isn't Android a heavily modified Linux build? Seems like this was the logical step. Too bad someone hasn't ported XP to ARM. Now that would be a fun toy.
 
XP was horrible on x86, good riddance....couldn't imagine it on ARM

Android I believe is like running a Java VM on top of an underlying Linux kernel
 
The docking battery issue is a good point, but I'm quite stoked for this. Aside from it just being a great concept, this is the sort of thing that could eventually lead to the fabled 'year of the Linux desktop.' I still prefer my Windows for work (due to being a graphic designer and thus locked to the full Creative Suite), but the everyday consumer needs little more than web, email, and office capability.
 
Its going to be this functionality, running Windows or w/e Apple cooks up (OS X? iOS?), that wins the future, not a phone running some BS hackjob like the Motorola Webtop, or Chrome OS....

In 3 years I'm gonna hold my entire primary PC in a package around the same size as my current Samsung Vibrant....
 
Awesome! This is what it should be. Keep the same OS across desktop/mobile devices, no need for specialized apps that way.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
Its going to be this functionality, running Windows or w/e Apple cooks up (OS X? iOS?), that wins the future, not a phone running some BS hackjob like the Motorola Webtop, or Chrome OS....
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Technically, Android is kinda a hackjob. Pretty much every Linux based OS is. That's the charm of the OS. Only that Google did it right.

In 3 years I'm gonna hold my entire primary PC in a package around the same size as my current Samsung Vibrant....
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Technically your Vibrant would have been the equivalent to a PC back in 2001. Only that your phone probably comes with more ram then a typical 2001 PC, and a much better graphics card then a typical 2001 PC. People back then would have been happy with a machine like that today. So what's stopping you?

To be honest, a lot of people today own PCs that are quad core 3+ Ghz with amazing Fusion or Sandy Bridge graphics. I don't see myself leaving my PC for a phone, but then again not many people can type properly on a keyboard.
 
I would love to have Ubuntu on my Droid and would even use it as a second desktop computer. (Current desktop is Windows 7 64bit for gaming purposes)
 
1726009-shut_up_and_take_my_money_super.jpg
 
Steve said:
A full Ubuntu desktop system running on your docked Android phone? This actually sounds like a brilliant idea, doesn't it? Hell, why stop at phones? Thanks to Asacolips for the link!
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Canonical's also late to the party. KDE's already been planning this, and is already way ahead of Ubuntu: http://zerias.blogspot.com/2012/02/windows-8-lets-get-ready-to-rumble.html

So once again Canonical looks at what KDE is doing, says, "hey we should make a pale copy of that" ... and news sites for whatever reason report whatever Canonical is though it's news worthy.

Come on Steve, you're better than that.
 
Ok so help me out here. would this be something that needs to be shipped with the phone? Or could it be added kind of like an app?
 
Major_A said:
Isn't Android a heavily modified Linux build? Seems like this was the logical step. Too bad someone hasn't ported XP to ARM. Now that would be a fun toy.
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You can't port anything without the source. And Android isn't a "heavily modified" Linux built - it is a partial fork, yes, but not by all that much. And the ways it is different won't affect anything like Ubuntu.

FndTheRver said:
That doesn't sound like a bad idea. The battery life will go to shit if you leave it plugged in an charging all the time though.
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Uh, no it won't.

shoota said:
Ok so help me out here. would this be something that needs to be shipped with the phone? Or could it be added kind of like an app?
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Needs to be built into the phone. They are targeting OEMs with this to include in devices like the Atrix.
 
Wow, as if Android isn't hell on the battery enough. Wait, actually I'm not sure which one is worse on the battery here.
 
So it can only come preinstalled on an android phone and it can only be used while docked.

FAIL!!!
 
BDS23 said:
Wow, as if Android isn't hell on the battery enough. Wait, actually I'm not sure which one is worse on the battery here.
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Since the Ubuntu OS would only be used when the phone is docked and presumably being charged by mains power, I don't see how battery life would be a factor. Perhaps the occupation of flash storage on the phone to maintain an OS that sits dead when not docked might be worth consideration.

Really though, the phone needs a single OS and a physical docking station (with an ideally industry standard interface for broad, multi-vendor interoperation) that it can be popped into with the OS making on-the-fly adaptations to handle a desktop/laptop-like mode. The idea of dual OSes is an okay method to transition to a point where the phone is also the core of your primary computing device, but it's a kludgy way of getting there.
 
Ashbringer said:
Technically, Android is kinda a hackjob. Pretty much every Linux based OS is. That's the charm of the OS. Only that Google did it right.
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Android is a real defined OS, with a real ecosystem, and real support.... that Motorola Webtop crap was never going to amount to anything, there are no applications for it, no developer community, no OS progression... seriously, what a mess, that is what I mean by hackjob... it should never have existed....

Ashbringer said:
Technically your Vibrant would have been the equivalent to a PC back in 2001. Only that your phone probably comes with more ram then a typical 2001 PC, and a much better graphics card then a typical 2001 PC. People back then would have been happy with a machine like that today. So what's stopping you?
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Whats stopping me is the fact that using my phone as my desktop PC isn't possible.... Pretty obvious limiting factor there....

Concerning the question of power, 99% of my computing time these days is web browsing, excel, math scripting (matlab, r, sas), and media consumption. I don't need much more power than an A15 or Krait can muster, and unless someone is gaming or doing real programming, they don't need any more than that either (mostly...)

I'm not saying the standalone desktop should die completely, I love them, they are necessary to allow open computing to continue to exist (can't stress how incredibly important this concept is)... but my phone being a fully functioning Windows 8 or OS X or w/e desktop when I slap it into my dock at my desk is going to be the future for most people, it isn't even a question honestly....
 
Just to add: I know that Windows on ARM won't be allowing desktop app usage (at least not initially), so my gaze will shift to the Intel smartphones that run x86 when those start coming out.

When an OEM takes those Medfields, or their successors, and slaps x86 Windows on it, makes it work as Windows Mobile when undocked, and Windows x86 when docked. they will get my money in an instant.

I know I'm not the only person waiting for this... running real Windows, but with an interface really designed for mobile use when on the go, *and* a supporting ecosystem of apps (remember, x86 Windows will run Metro apps no problem...)

seriously, its a future.... and from what I see, Microsoft has the best foundation to build it on....
 
kllrnohj said:
Uh, no it won't.
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I've had two android phones that were plugged in a lot because they were used as a wifi base for my laptop when traveling. The battery performance was terrible after doing this for a while. It would only hold a charge for a short time compared to when the phone was new. Unless some new battery tech has come out that I've never heard of, then I stand by my own experience.
 
brucedeluxe169 said:
seriously, its a future.... and from what I see, Microsoft has the best foundation to build it on....
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Indeed for all of the hate for Metro, Metro is the thing that is going to allow Windows to run everywhere, even if desktop applications won't be suited for the device. There have been stabs at x86 phones in the past and you have to figure that Microsoft and Intel are working on a full x86 Windows phone. That would be HUGE if good devices can be built.
 
I love the people coming into this thread saying "old news". That makes it quite apparent they didn't bother reading or watching the video because this isn't the same as Androlinux.

Personally, I'm excited for this. This is what Motorola's Webtop should have been. Can you imagine a ROM like CyanogenMod or AOKP with a lightweight version of <insert your Linux preference here> for a webtop? I can and it's very drool worthy.

I've been telling friends and family for awhile now this is the way we're headed. Our phones will be our computers in the future. Plug into a dummy terminal at home or plug into a tablet device (think Droid RAZR inserts into the Xoom or something). That way everything is completely seamless and based entirely on your UI preferences. To borrow from LOTR - "One device to rule them all."
 
I used to be a die hard mandrake user...honestly at this point it has been years since I touched linux. It was fun when I wanted to do (had the time) geeky stuff, but it never evolved beyond that. To the one hoping for the fabled nix desktop it is just never going to happen. At this point the open sourced nature of linux works against it and keeps it a niche product. Linux had a chance when its only real competition was XP. However since then MS has gotten its shit together and frankly there is little that Linux can offer that isn't baked into windows.

It hurts me to say this, but Linux is long past its glory days.

Ubuntu for android..utterly pointless. If I am looking at a dock situation, then having android become the OS or perhaps somehow tieing into chromeOS are the only realistic paths. However that said, Intel/MS has the strongest chance of something like this with an x86 phone and win 8. Beyond that, there is nothing in the way of competition that has a real chance at the consumer market as a whole.
 
ok honestly, whats the point of having a desktop OS on a phone?
 
All your info in one place, and with you at all times, accessible at a moment's notice (better than a laptop: your data lives in your pocket, on, all the time)

Programs that will work with that data on the go, and on the desktop... seamless usage, across desk and mobile usage

An OS that is customizable by the user, and is controlled by the user (things like drivers, OS setup, etc), unlike say, iOS, Android, and WP7. This probably only really applies to x86 Windows 8 though....

Those are the major plusses for me, other, more minor ones include:
Even more power efficient computers
Mobile OSes that allow for open, general purpose usage models
Platform consolidation, making core program development easier


Probably more things that I can't think or off the top of my head at the moment... but unifying desktop and mobile OSes will be the best of all worlds I think. Especially when it comes to enabling open computing in the mobile world, bringing the desktop to the cell phone will help return control of the device back to the end user...
 
FndTheRver said:
I've had two android phones that were plugged in a lot because they were used as a wifi base for my laptop when traveling. The battery performance was terrible after doing this for a while. It would only hold a charge for a short time compared to when the phone was new. Unless some new battery tech has come out that I've never heard of, then I stand by my own experience.
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Well, it could be the phone's power circuitry was bad, but keeping lithium batteries charged is actually better for them than draining them and recharging them (which is actually damaging).

So while your experience may have been valid, your conclusion is not.
 
kllrnohj said:
Well, it could be the phone's power circuitry was bad, but keeping lithium batteries charged is actually better for them than draining them and recharging them (which is actually damaging).

So while your experience may have been valid, your conclusion is not.
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This.
 
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