Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded Edition Announced

With the increasing population of Mobile and Embedded Device around the world, Canonical is now readying mobile and embedded edition of Ubuntu. More detailed planning will be done at the next Ubuntu Development Summit which begins next week in Seville, Spain. The first release of this edition will coincide with the release of Ubuntu 7.10 Gusty Gibbon in October 2007.

Canonical and the Ubuntu Development community will collaborate with Intel to build these editions. Intel recently unveiled low-energy chip codenamed “Silverthorn” which are specifically meant for mobiles and other portable computers. According to Intel, Silverthorn will consume just 10% of the power compared to today’s conventional CPUs. Surprisingly, Intel already has a new mobile device prototype which runs on Ubuntu.

The forthcoming mobile edition of Ubuntu platform will focus on maximizing battery life for portable device which are capable of running sophisticated applications while offering graphical interface in the small screen.

Ubuntu CTO Matt Zimmerman said that their “a central goal” has always been in bringing user-friendly, open source operating accessible to users across wide range of devices. Canonical is hiring Mobile Developers to work on this project. More details are expected to come out next week after the Ubuntu Developers Summit in Seville, Spain from 6th to 11th May.

Ubuntu is not the first one to peep into the mobile world. Last month, GNOME Foundation announced their plans to build mobile and embedded version of Linux. In the past, we’ve already seen web-tablet products like Nokia 770, N800 and Nicholas Negroponte’s 100$ laptop which runs on Linux OS.

Via: Linux Devices [Image Source: pthree.org]

This post was published by on May 8, 2007

About the Author: Thilak Rao works as a Social Media Expert. He is one of the first professional bloggers from India, and he loves to write, travel and click photos. Follow him on Twitter @thilak

  • http://www.techlivez.com Technology Updates

    Lets hope the prices for mobiles go down with the use of ubuntu for mobiles…

  • http://blog.shankarganesh.com Shankar Ganesh

    Somebody on Digg commented the other day: uPhone :D

  • http://tech-buzz.net Thilak

    Technology Updates: Well, we can’t expect Ubuntu to make some drastic price changes as it still needs hardware and Canonical won’t be manufacturing the phones. However, it will surely heat up the competition between Windows Phones like iPaqs and O2s.

    Shankar Ganesh: uPhone, cool.

  • http://www.techlivez.com Technology Updates

    yea the competition will definitely go strong for those windows powered phones..

  • http://blog.shankarganesh.com Shankar Ganesh

    Competition will surely improve, I guess.

  • http://samirbharadwaj.com Samir

    The most important development that will result from this will be the final break down of all those ridiculous and senseless limitations that mobile manufacturers build into their operating software.

    Why can mobile phones with multiple megabytes of internal storage only store 40-50 text messages before they ask you to clear space? Hard coded limitations like this simply don’t make sense when even even simple phones right now have systems software that could be considered quite full-featured operating systems with file browsers etc.

    I’m guessing limitations are a thing of the past once there a way for people to realease patches to the software. At least I am wishing they are.

  • http://www.gadget9.com Singh

    Sounds really great and I heard that even firefox are having plans on getting their browser on mobile… So we’ll see an opensource mobile sooner or later…Hope the price drops n da quality remains…like LINUX

  • http://blog.shankarganesh.com/ Shankar Ganesh

    Competition will surely improve, I guess.