13 ms·

Ubuntu for phones

513 points by llambda 14y ago

asimjalis 14y ago
Does this make it substantially easier to get Python on the phone?
- mtgx 14y ago
  Here it talks about what you can use for apps: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem
- icebraining 14y ago
  Yes, maybe we can finally reach 2005! /disgruntled Nokia fan
  - eertami 14y ago
    Nokia N900? apt-get install python
chestnut-tree 14y ago
Here's a link to the YouTube video presentation that jumps directly to the section about the new smartphone http://youtu.be/cpWHJDLsqTU?t=5m20s http://youtu.be/cpWHJDLsqTU?t=5m20s
typicalrunt 14y ago
Very cool. I'm looking forward to this phone, and it's (hopefully) hacking potential. I'd love to write my own scripts in $LANGUAGE to interact with the phone sensors. If it's built on Ubuntu, it should all be open to us, right? I see that this page (http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem) states that the apps are created with HTML5 or QML, but I'm hoping other languages are just an apt-get away. If so, they can have my money now.
- Newky 14y ago
  Read in some other HN comment that its just android underneath, so this would suggest that the normal apt-get route might not be an option?
  - dnu 14y ago
    There are two different projects. What you're talking about is the Ubuntu for Android.
  - arx 14y ago
    iubuntu for android is just android underneath, this new announcement is a stamd alone os
  - green7ea 14y ago
    To clarify: Ubuntu for phones can run using the android kernel (which is a modified linux kernel). This means that most of the drivers should work out of the box (graphics, wireless, etc) if you use this route. You can also use a normal linux kernel but the driver support could be more problematic in that case. The difference is that Ubuntu phone has the ubuntu userland (which includes apt) where as a normal android phone has the android userland (dalvik, etc). The nice thing about the ubuntu userland is that it will most likely allow you to use any compiler that targets ARM. This is interesting because it allows you to make native phone application using python, ruby, haskell, lisp, etc. Another nice thing about the ubuntu userland is that it includes the gnu programs so it will be much easier to compile and use things like openssh than it is in android.
    - gizmo686 14y ago
      How different is the Android kernel from mainline? If it is just a case of drivers shouldn't they be able to easily merge them back to mainline as modules?
      - wmf 14y ago
        All the drivers (for recent hardware) are either binary or so ugly that mainline will probably refuse to merge them.
nuclear_eclipse 14y ago
I really love how the Nexus phones have become a fixture in concept shots for alternative OSes. They showed up in Mozilla's OS announcements as well.
- eloisant 14y ago
  The thing is like Mozilla, they piggy-back on Android for Linux kernel and drivers on hardware. A Mozilla engineer told me that without Android (and consequently Linux kernel and drivers availability) they could never have pulled it.
- akavlie 14y ago
  It helps that they don't have carrier or manufacturer branding plastered on the front.
- zyb09 14y ago
  yeah saw that too, but then I got exited and was looking for a ROM download for the Nexus S or 4, but their doesn't seem to be any.
aes256 14y ago
At long last, a smartphone OS that isn't iOS and doesn't look like shit.
- antihero 14y ago
  How about Android 4.x?
- k-mcgrady 14y ago
  This does look very nice, much better than any variant of Android I've seen though the top of the 'welcome screen' (time/date) looks identical to iOS - same font, sizing, and arrangement.
  - ZeroGravitas 14y ago
    The font they are using is called "Ubuntu" ("Ubuntu Light", to be exact, I think), which is fairly distinct from Apple's choice of Helvetica, even in the limited area of clock digits You can type in some example times here to see: http://font.ubuntu.com/ http://font.ubuntu.com/
trendnet 14y ago
I was thinking the other day, how Ubuntu and the movement of free friendly desktop became less relevant with the triumphant march of iOS and Android. Considering that Mark Shuttleworth is a smart leader. He will definitely make a proper move in the near future. And here we go...
- pandeiro 14y ago
  i moved on from ubuntu a while back but, watching the promo video, i couldn't help but thinking mark shuttleworth is, pardon the cliche, something like the new steve jobs. he's got charisma, big ideas, and he's savvy enough to market them. my other major thought, while watching this: where is the keyboard? (ie, will it run emacs?)
maxpert 14y ago
He is pitching the same things and similar UI gestures and concepts as Windows 8. I don't know if it will ever be a competitor to iOS, or Android. But its surely gonna hurt Blackberry.
vibrunazo 14y ago
The official hangout about the announcement is still going on btw: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115750270177636397262/posts/HBof6mjApnx https://plus.google.com/u/0/115750270177636397262/posts/HBof... One latest thing they just said, is that "ubuntu for phones" and "ubuntu for android" are 2 separate projects going on in parallel. So they're not abandoning ubuntu for android. Instead, they view that as a gateway to the ubuntu world, which would hopefully get more people into ubuntu for phones. As you can see, the official website still have tabs for both ubuntu for android and for phones: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/ http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/
- gcr 14y ago
  What's the difference? I assume "ubuntu for phones" is where you physically install ubuntu on your phone (ie. it boots into the linux kernel with an ubuntu userland), but what's "ubuntu for android"? Is that (purely guessing here) an Ubuntu VM sold as an app, so phones would be running ubuntu inside a virtual machine under the Android OS's control?
  - sciurus 14y ago
    From the link above describing Ubuntu for Android: "Ubuntu and Android share the same kernel. When docked, the Ubuntu OS boots and runs concurrently with Android. This allows both mobile and desktop functionality to co-exist in different runtimes."
- infinii 14y ago
  For an OSS project, I've been quite disappointed in how difficult it is to find any info on the "ubuntu for android" project. It was announced almost a year ago and I can't find any forum or list for discussion/updates.
rediah 14y ago
It took this long for this to finally happen. This will hopefully spur other developers to follow in their footsteps.
jack57 14y ago
Looks like a lot of people are interested in developing apps for Ubuntu Mobile. So much so that the website is already down: http://developer.ubuntu.com/gomobile http://developer.ubuntu.com/gomobile
pajju 14y ago
Isn't this the best time for Nokia to make Ubuntu Phones? I think so. Ubuntu and Nokia can make a good fit, under the current circumstances. Nokia maybe can now come back strongly, instead of believing in a closed ecosystem like windows, which is not going anywhere.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  I assume that whatever contract they have with Microsoft would make that very difficult. There's not really any evidence that this will sell more than Windows Phone does anyway, I kind of suspect that canonical would be thrilled if this got the same sort of sales that Windows Phone does.
- mtgx 14y ago
  That ship has sailed for Nokia, and it looks like it will disband next year. I could see Samsung, HTC, Huawei and others using it Ubuntu as an alternative to Android, though, instead of WP8 and Tizen, especially since Canonical says that if their devices work with Android, it's trivial to make them work with Ubuntu OS.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  They are already tainted with Windows. They probably gone through a good round of scapegoating blaming Qt and its previous Linux based phone for its failure and Canonical / Ubuntu probably wouldn't want to be associated with Nokia at this point as it will leave a bad taste in developer's mouths.
joshka 14y ago
Mark Shuttleworth reminds me of Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oye9AmOdsZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oye9AmOdsZc is uncanny.
drcube 14y ago
I won't believe it until they give me a ROM. It's my phone and I don't need the manufacturer's blessing. Put up or shut up, Canonical.
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  What?
  - polshaw 14y ago
    He's saying ubuntu should quit waiting for a manufacturer to knock their door down, and allow developers /end users to put this on their own device. As someone waiting for ubuntu4android since 'forever', i agree. E: Mark S suggests that ROMs would be available for existing devices and not just through OEMs on the interview w/ engadget-- but isn't 100% explicit, and mentioned nothing about when to expect any builds.
    - BrianEatWorld 14y ago
      I agree. I've been all over Firefox OS, even though I can't get a legit device for another few months. The lack of an ability for me to test drive this now is kind of an announcement killer.
      - josteink 14y ago
        Seconding this. I'm very much for what Mozilla is trying to do with Firefox OS. I want to give it a spin. Heck, maybe even contribute. It's, after all, for a very good cause. But the fact that my Galaxy nexus is a "tier 3" phone which has no guarantees of even working, and that the "tier 1" phones are phones you cannot buy, my ability and willingness to wipe my working OS from my phone (which I need) for something unproven is very close to zero. Had they provided some good and working images for phones available today, chances that they would get more attention and recognition would be much, much higher. Not providing that has (IMO) been a mistake which has cost them, both publicity and potential contributors. And now Ubuntu seems to be making the same mistake for their phone-OS. It's a strategic mistake and it will cost them the chance to impact the market.
Off 14y ago
mini review by the Verge : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWnMTm7We8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWnMTm7We8
- FrojoS 14y ago
  tl;d watch: slow and laggy
  - takluyver 14y ago
    Rather an unfair summary - their own conclusion was more like 'Promising, but will face an uphill battle. Some lag that we hope will be cleared up before launch.'
Kilimanjaro 14y ago
Mark Shuttleworth. I've seen your balls, and they are big and brassy!
MatthewPhillips 14y ago
Since this is just Ubuntu, I'm assuming I can ssh into it and have all of the unix utilities I'm used to without installing something like Busybox, and have full root control. I'm assuming this has a lot of the normal unix layers we are used to. X.org? Wayland? If so, this is a significant step up in terms of hackability than iOS or Android.
- trendnet 14y ago
  "If so, this is a significant step up in terms of hackability than iOS or Android." You can ssh into iOS and have all the Unix utilities and full root control for quite some time.
  - jspthrowaway2 14y ago
    ...after jailbreaking and modifying. His point was off the bat, legally, or both.
    - josteink 14y ago
      Not to be an über-pedant, but are you implying that it's somehow illegal to take ownership of your own device? In what crazy world do you live?
      - jspthrowaway2 14y ago
        A rapidly-evolving one where the legal status of jailbreaking an iPhone has changed over the last several years and jailbreaking an iPad remains illegal. AKA: The United States.
- pandeiro 14y ago
  Emacs. And Emacs.
  - yakiv 14y ago
    Emacs may be great on desktops, but it probably isn't on hands or smartphones.
tsahyt 14y ago
I've been contemplating the idea of a full fledged Linux as a mobile operating system for a while now. It's great to see that people have already been working on this. I like how it finally offers development in native languages that aren't Objective-C. The UI is looking good and from the presentation it looks usable. If that is really a proper Linux I'll definitely give it a try once I get my hands on it.
- wmf 14y ago
  I actually bought a Nokia N900 running Maemo. It sucked. Getting a desktop GNOME/Linux stack to work right on phones is a huge amount of work — maybe almost as much as writing Android from scratch (it's hard to tell due to the budget disparity).
  - eertami 14y ago
    Unpolished sure but I have to disagree that it sucks. I've solely used an N900 for the last 3 years now. The power of maemo for me overrules the occasional frustrations - I'm just kind of worried about what I'll do if I break it.
mwg66 14y ago
If they get this to market, I'm in.
jiggy2011 14y ago
I hope with their "HTML5 Apps" there will be strong integration with local storage and that the phone will be able to cache all of the assets and JS files etc locally if they are going for "Web apps should be just like native apps". The problem with "cloud apps" on phones is that you run into the real problems of carrier imposed bandwidth limits and slow connectivity in places. Apps that have a horrendously slow UI if you are anywhere outside of a major city will not be much fun to use.
- pedalpete 14y ago
  Do you really need stronger integration with local storage when you've got HTML5 localstorage? I don't believe there is anything stopping us from caching all the JS in localstorage already, though I haven't done it yet. Apparently, you can even store images in localstorage http://robnyman.github.com/html5demos/localstorage/ http://robnyman.github.com/html5demos/localstorage/
  - jiggy2011 14y ago
    Ideally it would be nice to have something that caches stuff in local storage and can make offline copies of HTML pages and JS by default.
    - prostoalex 14y ago
      You mean like App Cache? http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/appcache/beginner/ http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/appcache/beginner/
pablasso 14y ago
It's amusing how mocked Apple's marketing is while still getting copied by huge companies.
BenoitEssiambre 14y ago
This is probably what Android should have been. I'm not a big fan of the Dalvik virtual machine layer on Android. It does drain device resources, especially RAM. I also think this type of architecture would have allowed convergence with Chrome OS more easily and cleanly. I wonder if there is space left in the market for another open source OS though. Most people seem to think Android is open enough. What gives me hope this could succeed is that the Ubuntu desktop is currently the desktop OS that is most user friendly and has the best user experience (IMO). Bringing Ubuntu's design team's superior skills to the mobile platform might give them the edge they need to become relevant in that space. I love my Ubuntu desktop. I really hope this takes off.
- mtgx 14y ago
  When Nokia started working on Meego, and Microsoft had plans for WP7, I was hoping Nokia would be smart enough to hurry up and form alliances with other manufacturers to become the defacto alternative to Android for all companies who either didn't want to use Android (RIM, HP, themselves) and companies who wanted a second OS for leverage against Google (Samsung, LG, HTC, etc). I think they could've done it if they didn't slack off so much with Meego, and were serious about it, but in the same time I also knew Nokia was way too arrogant for their own good back then, and even if they made Meego on time, they probably wouldn't have shared it with others. But that would've been a mistake, because as we can see no OS that depends on one company alone can succeed anymore. Heck, even the ones that depend on several companies are having a very hard time already (WP7/8). And the reason I would've preferred Meego to become the Android alternative, was because it was also an open source OS, and I would've liked more competition between open source OS's, rather than have just an open source one fight against multiple proprietary ones (iOS, WP, WebOS - at the time). So I think there may still be time left for Ubuntu to become that alternative to Android, especially if manufacturers stop relying on WP8 and even Windows 8, and start to focus more on Ubuntu phones and Ubuntu laptops instead. But it's very hard to see if it will actually happen, right now, and if it does happen, we won't see it until 2014-2015.
  - pekk 14y ago
    iOS is successful, is anyone making iOS devices other than Apple?
ebae 14y ago
oh man. do I have to pick up another language for another platform????
- dharma1 14y ago
  no. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework)
  - olivier1664 14y ago
    "Moai" look nice for game. http://getmoai.com/products/sdk/ http://getmoai.com/products/sdk/ HTML5 with canvas+javascript can be an other possibility. (I do not the limits of these tools)
hobbyist 14y ago
I will be buying this phone. Period! Why? The very reason why I use linux on my desktop and android just never gives you the same feeling of being differnt from the rest of the world.
stonekeeper09 14y ago
Will Canonical be in the firing line of Microsoft's lawyers in the same way as some manufacturers selling android phones are? Microsoft make $10 for every android phone. How will this be different?
- jpkeisala 14y ago
  I am sure it is not only Microsoft who is trolling them if they get any success on this.
ajasmin 14y ago
Stupid question: Is the source code available yet?
p4bl0 14y ago
I wonder if the limitations of the HTML5+JavaScript framework for developping apps on Ubuntu will be removed when Firefox OS is released. Why wouldn't Canonical implement the JS APIs that are built for Firefox OS and make Firefox OS apps runs natively on Ubuntu?
Rickasaurus 14y ago
You'll be happy with Ubuntu on your phone until the first update where they'll randomly replace the audio subsystem and break everything. Not that I'm a bitter ex-Ubuntu user or anything.
- rdtsc 14y ago
  I would rather have that than shitty 100ms+ audio latency that Android OS has and still hasn't practically fixed (they did theoretically in 4.1+) http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 Not that I am a bitter Android VOIP developer or anything ;-)
- fixedd 14y ago
  Or when the upgrade breaks the ability to go into a low power state. Or when it breaks some of the hardware keys. Or.....
hnriot 14y ago
The phone looks like Win8 Metro, and the presenter is trying to be Steve Jobs. With the cpu's in phones already being phenomenally fast I see little to no value in removing the java layer. Currently this is vaporware, but should it appear on a phone sometime soon, I just don't see it gaining any marketshare beyond some of the hardcore OSS fans. Real people like an app ecosystem with their latest Angry Birds games and don't much care about any of the technical details. The "lock screen" is just weird, and the hyperbole spouted by the presenter was downright embarrassing. It all comes down to the apps. If Google Maps/Gmail/Chrome/Youtube etc all run on it then it might stand a chance, but I don't see further phone market fragmentation as being in anyone's interest. I do, however, use Ubuntu as my main desktop (2.6.38)
- jblow 14y ago
  Middlebrow dismissal. Believe that all of us working in video games want program execution on mobile devices to be as fast as possible. My brand-new desktop PC is not fast enough for what I want to do, so an Android phone running a bytecode interpreter is that much further. I also don't think you know what "vaporware" means. If it is actually running on physical hardware it's not vaporware; it is just not in consumer hands yet. (Since Engadget has played with it on a physical phone... it is known to be real.)
  - wmf 14y ago
    Don't all mobile OSes now allow C/C++ for games? I know Android 2.3+ does. The difference appears to be that Android encourages Java for non-games while Ubuntu will use C++/Qt.
    - ttuominen 14y ago
      Yes, and QML (declarative syntax + Javascript logic) for UI-heavy parts or even complete apps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QML
  - rayiner 14y ago
    Android doesn't use a bytecode interpreter in any modern version.
rradu 14y ago
Swiping from the edge of the screen is not always easy with a protective case on your phone, as it impedes your ability to do so. Pretty annoying problem that I haven't seen that considered in many places.
- freehunter 14y ago
  The ideal phone wouldn't need a protective case. This is a standard perpetuated by the sleek and thin aspect to flagship phones, and I personally think it's obnoxious. What's the point in having the world's thinnest smartphone if you're going to keep it in the world's thickest case all the time? I'd prefer a phone that is built from the ground up to be secure without a case. My current phone is a Nokia Lumia 920, which can withstand some pretty substantial forces [1] without breaking and without needing a case. And sure it's thick compared to a naked iPhone or SIII, but it's thinner than those phones with a case that would allow them to withstand the same kind of impact. Why do people put up with buying a phone and needing to immediately wrap it in protective rubber and plastic to keep it from shattering? Don't put up with it anymore! Demand reliable hardware! How well it works with a case shouldn't be a determining factor. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c8il_Q6SU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c8il_Q6SU
  - xahrepap 14y ago
    While I agree with what you're saying, I think that a good argument in favor of cases is that when the phone finally DOES break, you're replacing the phone. But when your case gets all scratched up and broken, you just replace the case. -Naked Nexus User.
  - jordanthoms 14y ago
    Nokia always was great at build quality, it's just a shame it took them so long to figure out that the processor speed and OS is important too.
  - Lost_BiomedE 14y ago
    If the battery is removable, like most android phones, you don't need the protective case. If dropped, the battery will come out and take a large force of the fall. iPhones do not do this and need the case. Then it became either trendy, needed for resale, or people don't know that their phone 'exploding' when dropped is a feature. For example, I have dropped my EVO V at least 20 times, onto concrete or tile, without issue.
teyc 14y ago
Here are the reasons why I think Mark Shuttleworth is doing this: Today, Linux is everywhere in the sense that beneath Android – runs Linux. Unfortunately, Ubuntu doesn’t figure in the equation. Tablets, phones are all locked down devices and enthusiast/hobbyist open source doesn’t figure unless drivers are available. To maintain relevance, Ubuntu needs to exist in the mobile space. Today’s announcement is an early one, and is making the same value proposition as Android did early on, before Google’s acquisition. i.e. an open source system that any phone vendor can use to build their smartphone platforms on. The Problems Ubuntu has a remarkably polished desktop product for years but it has remained a fringe product and the PC market has simply stopped growing. Jobs has carefully taken Apple around MS’s hegemony on the desktop by tackling music players first, then a pincer movement through Windows Mobile dominance by producing a very expensive smartphone. Shuttleworth faces not one but several well established and cashed up competitors – Apple, Google/Samsung, Amazon. I haven’t even mentioned Microsoft, or the Chinese Korean and Taiwanese versions of a smartphone OS. Each of them have an arsenal of patents and services that gives them degrees of freedom to move around the space. Google for example commands the email/contacts/calendar integration, YouTube, Maps and Navigation. Google’s approach is to deny competitors full functionality of these services to cripple their smartphone offerings. e.g. turn by turn in the case of iOS, YouTube search APIs in the case of Windows Phones. Apple and Amazon have offered cloud locker services for those who purchased music and books from their online stores. Microsoft has some cards left in enterprise management and server integration. Next steps I believe this is just an initial salvo. Promising compatibility with Android kernel level drivers is a good start. Right now there isn’t enough value proposition for Ubuntu phone in terms of apps or services. Integrating a phone and desktop are novel but it is far from a sure bet. A reference phone design might be good bet if they think it will persuade some of the smaller Chinese manufacturers to jump onboard. However, this will not please Dell. It might make a MIUI-like play, and remain a niche phone OS for several years until the opportunity is right. What Ubuntu really needs to do now as an organisation is to make a sideways bet into iOS and Android. It needs to kick start development of its own mail app, or acquire a navigation maker like Waze, and get these loaded onto the popular phones today. There is still some geek-cred left in Ubuntu for people to load these apps on, and who knows, they might catch on in the enterprise space.
chj 14y ago
Finally a phone OS (other than iOS) where C is a first class citizen. Will be buying.
rayiner 14y ago
Isn't it a bit early for a phone OS when they still can't get out a version of desktop Ubuntu with battery life equal to Windows/Mac OS X?
- orbitingpluto 14y ago
  Your mileage may vary. I have a laptop that dual boots: 7hrs Ubuntu, 5.5hrs Windows.
reissbaker 14y ago
This is exciting, but... I wish they hadn't gone the route of hiding app controls behind a swipe menu. The menu button on Android was one of the reasons apps for so long seemed unintuitive on the platform, and the Windows 8 charms menu has been panned by critics for the same reason. If your users can't see the controls, they won't know they're there — and even though they could open the menu, it won't feel immediately intuitive in the way that just seeing the controls onscreen does. Even a little breadcrumb like the now-common triple-dash icon on iOS or the triple-dot icon on Android helps people find their way around unfamiliar apps. Android finally dropped the hidden menu after the 2.x series, but it looks like Canonical just walked into making the same mistake. That said this is very, very cool. Using non-mainstream programming languages on phones will be interesting.
knitting 14y ago
I wonder what would make a non-Ubuntu OS user who does not care much about "open source" to choose this over Android.
72deluxe 14y ago
Their plans look surprisingly like a Motorola Atrix! It runs Android normally but also has an old Ubuntu ARM system on it which it runs when docked. Having said this, it needed a severe amount of hacking around and rooting to get it to a usable state and to fix the repositories and broken dependencies and horrible window manager. I have one and its dock plugged into the TV. I also have the Lapdock. It isn't a massively powerful phone but alright for compiling this and that, word processing and SSHing to more powerful machines. Sadly, Motorola have announced that they will make no more of this type of phone as it wasn't overly popular (and the Lapdock and accessories were stupidly expensive) So, with the Ubuntu phone I can see this being popular with a few geeks but not with the mass market. If they stop making Unity behave like it is on a tablet when it is really on a PC, that'd be great. That is one good thing that could come from this, right?
cubsink 14y ago
Finally a mobile device that uses html5-apps as they should be used. This was one of the things I were longing for in Meego but as that project went to hell thanks to Microsoft infiltrating Nokia I may now look forward to this. This seems like a great OS and is very beautiful. I currently have iOS (work) and I hate it with all my heart. I really don't understand why it's so popular.
jasongaya 14y ago
i think ios and android have very big marketing lets see what happen in ubantu os.
nagarjun 14y ago
The idea behind a single OS that works across devices is probably the single greatest thing that any company can do. Having said that, it's very difficult to set up an app framework that allows not only the OS maker but even developers to create a single application that works across devices. Kind of like media queries for native applications.
devilankur18 14y ago
too many new OS in the market ... lets hope non/x-ubuntu users will like it.
teja1990 14y ago
The designers who created the Welcome Screen , kudos to you all , it looks awesome :)
slacka 14y ago
Native Android! I love it! As someone who suffered with a laggy HTML5 based WebOS Pre, then loved his silky smooth 3GS, but left the walled garden for a Galaxy S2, I am thrilled about this. My S2’s H/W by all accounts blows my old 3GS out of the water, yet I still find the experience much more laggy than my 3 year old 3GS. I’m sure much of this is the Java VM holding Android back. I can’t wait to have an Linux phone with the native speed of IOS. Great news!

Ubuntu for phones

513 points by llambda 14y ago

asimjalis 14y ago

Does this make it substantially easier to get Python on the phone?

mtgx 14y ago
Here it talks about what you can use for apps: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem
icebraining 14y ago
Yes, maybe we can finally reach 2005! /disgruntled Nokia fan
- eertami 14y ago
  Nokia N900? apt-get install python

chestnut-tree 14y ago

Here's a link to the YouTube video presentation that jumps directly to the section about the new smartphone http://youtu.be/cpWHJDLsqTU?t=5m20s http://youtu.be/cpWHJDLsqTU?t=5m20s

typicalrunt 14y ago

Very cool. I'm looking forward to this phone, and it's (hopefully) hacking potential. I'd love to write my own scripts in $LANGUAGE to interact with the phone sensors. If it's built on Ubuntu, it should all be open to us, right? I see that this page (http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/phone/app-ecosystem) states that the apps are created with HTML5 or QML, but I'm hoping other languages are just an apt-get away. If so, they can have my money now.

Newky 14y ago
Read in some other HN comment that its just android underneath, so this would suggest that the normal apt-get route might not be an option?
- dnu 14y ago
  There are two different projects. What you're talking about is the Ubuntu for Android.
- arx 14y ago
  iubuntu for android is just android underneath, this new announcement is a stamd alone os
- green7ea 14y ago
  To clarify: Ubuntu for phones can run using the android kernel (which is a modified linux kernel). This means that most of the drivers should work out of the box (graphics, wireless, etc) if you use this route. You can also use a normal linux kernel but the driver support could be more problematic in that case. The difference is that Ubuntu phone has the ubuntu userland (which includes apt) where as a normal android phone has the android userland (dalvik, etc). The nice thing about the ubuntu userland is that it will most likely allow you to use any compiler that targets ARM. This is interesting because it allows you to make native phone application using python, ruby, haskell, lisp, etc. Another nice thing about the ubuntu userland is that it includes the gnu programs so it will be much easier to compile and use things like openssh than it is in android.
  - gizmo686 14y ago
    How different is the Android kernel from mainline? If it is just a case of drivers shouldn't they be able to easily merge them back to mainline as modules?
    - wmf 14y ago
      All the drivers (for recent hardware) are either binary or so ugly that mainline will probably refuse to merge them.

nuclear_eclipse 14y ago

I really love how the Nexus phones have become a fixture in concept shots for alternative OSes. They showed up in Mozilla's OS announcements as well.

eloisant 14y ago
The thing is like Mozilla, they piggy-back on Android for Linux kernel and drivers on hardware. A Mozilla engineer told me that without Android (and consequently Linux kernel and drivers availability) they could never have pulled it.
akavlie 14y ago
It helps that they don't have carrier or manufacturer branding plastered on the front.
zyb09 14y ago
yeah saw that too, but then I got exited and was looking for a ROM download for the Nexus S or 4, but their doesn't seem to be any.

aes256 14y ago

At long last, a smartphone OS that isn't iOS and doesn't look like shit.

antihero 14y ago
How about Android 4.x?
k-mcgrady 14y ago
This does look very nice, much better than any variant of Android I've seen though the top of the 'welcome screen' (time/date) looks identical to iOS - same font, sizing, and arrangement.
- ZeroGravitas 14y ago
  The font they are using is called "Ubuntu" ("Ubuntu Light", to be exact, I think), which is fairly distinct from Apple's choice of Helvetica, even in the limited area of clock digits You can type in some example times here to see: http://font.ubuntu.com/ http://font.ubuntu.com/

trendnet 14y ago

I was thinking the other day, how Ubuntu and the movement of free friendly desktop became less relevant with the triumphant march of iOS and Android. Considering that Mark Shuttleworth is a smart leader. He will definitely make a proper move in the near future. And here we go...

pandeiro 14y ago
i moved on from ubuntu a while back but, watching the promo video, i couldn't help but thinking mark shuttleworth is, pardon the cliche, something like the new steve jobs. he's got charisma, big ideas, and he's savvy enough to market them. my other major thought, while watching this: where is the keyboard? (ie, will it run emacs?)

maxpert 14y ago

He is pitching the same things and similar UI gestures and concepts as Windows 8. I don't know if it will ever be a competitor to iOS, or Android. But its surely gonna hurt Blackberry.

vibrunazo 14y ago

The official hangout about the announcement is still going on btw: https://plus.google.com/u/0/115750270177636397262/posts/HBof6mjApnx https://plus.google.com/u/0/115750270177636397262/posts/HBof... One latest thing they just said, is that "ubuntu for phones" and "ubuntu for android" are 2 separate projects going on in parallel. So they're not abandoning ubuntu for android. Instead, they view that as a gateway to the ubuntu world, which would hopefully get more people into ubuntu for phones. As you can see, the official website still have tabs for both ubuntu for android and for phones: http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/ http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android/

gcr 14y ago
What's the difference? I assume "ubuntu for phones" is where you physically install ubuntu on your phone (ie. it boots into the linux kernel with an ubuntu userland), but what's "ubuntu for android"? Is that (purely guessing here) an Ubuntu VM sold as an app, so phones would be running ubuntu inside a virtual machine under the Android OS's control?
- sciurus 14y ago
  From the link above describing Ubuntu for Android: "Ubuntu and Android share the same kernel. When docked, the Ubuntu OS boots and runs concurrently with Android. This allows both mobile and desktop functionality to co-exist in different runtimes."
infinii 14y ago
For an OSS project, I've been quite disappointed in how difficult it is to find any info on the "ubuntu for android" project. It was announced almost a year ago and I can't find any forum or list for discussion/updates.

rediah 14y ago

It took this long for this to finally happen. This will hopefully spur other developers to follow in their footsteps.

jack57 14y ago

Looks like a lot of people are interested in developing apps for Ubuntu Mobile. So much so that the website is already down: http://developer.ubuntu.com/gomobile http://developer.ubuntu.com/gomobile

pajju 14y ago

Isn't this the best time for Nokia to make Ubuntu Phones? I think so. Ubuntu and Nokia can make a good fit, under the current circumstances. Nokia maybe can now come back strongly, instead of believing in a closed ecosystem like windows, which is not going anywhere.

jiggy2011 14y ago
I assume that whatever contract they have with Microsoft would make that very difficult. There's not really any evidence that this will sell more than Windows Phone does anyway, I kind of suspect that canonical would be thrilled if this got the same sort of sales that Windows Phone does.
mtgx 14y ago
That ship has sailed for Nokia, and it looks like it will disband next year. I could see Samsung, HTC, Huawei and others using it Ubuntu as an alternative to Android, though, instead of WP8 and Tizen, especially since Canonical says that if their devices work with Android, it's trivial to make them work with Ubuntu OS.
rdtsc 14y ago
They are already tainted with Windows. They probably gone through a good round of scapegoating blaming Qt and its previous Linux based phone for its failure and Canonical / Ubuntu probably wouldn't want to be associated with Nokia at this point as it will leave a bad taste in developer's mouths.

joshka 14y ago

Mark Shuttleworth reminds me of Douglas Reynholm from the IT Crowd. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oye9AmOdsZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oye9AmOdsZc is uncanny.

drcube 14y ago

I won't believe it until they give me a ROM. It's my phone and I don't need the manufacturer's blessing. Put up or shut up, Canonical.

jiggy2011 14y ago
What?
- polshaw 14y ago
  He's saying ubuntu should quit waiting for a manufacturer to knock their door down, and allow developers /end users to put this on their own device. As someone waiting for ubuntu4android since 'forever', i agree. E: Mark S suggests that ROMs would be available for existing devices and not just through OEMs on the interview w/ engadget-- but isn't 100% explicit, and mentioned nothing about when to expect any builds.
  - BrianEatWorld 14y ago
    I agree. I've been all over Firefox OS, even though I can't get a legit device for another few months. The lack of an ability for me to test drive this now is kind of an announcement killer.
    - josteink 14y ago
      Seconding this. I'm very much for what Mozilla is trying to do with Firefox OS. I want to give it a spin. Heck, maybe even contribute. It's, after all, for a very good cause. But the fact that my Galaxy nexus is a "tier 3" phone which has no guarantees of even working, and that the "tier 1" phones are phones you cannot buy, my ability and willingness to wipe my working OS from my phone (which I need) for something unproven is very close to zero. Had they provided some good and working images for phones available today, chances that they would get more attention and recognition would be much, much higher. Not providing that has (IMO) been a mistake which has cost them, both publicity and potential contributors. And now Ubuntu seems to be making the same mistake for their phone-OS. It's a strategic mistake and it will cost them the chance to impact the market.

Off 14y ago

mini review by the Verge : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWnMTm7We8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXWnMTm7We8

FrojoS 14y ago
tl;d watch: slow and laggy
- takluyver 14y ago
  Rather an unfair summary - their own conclusion was more like 'Promising, but will face an uphill battle. Some lag that we hope will be cleared up before launch.'

Kilimanjaro 14y ago

Mark Shuttleworth. I've seen your balls, and they are big and brassy!

MatthewPhillips 14y ago

Since this is just Ubuntu, I'm assuming I can ssh into it and have all of the unix utilities I'm used to without installing something like Busybox, and have full root control. I'm assuming this has a lot of the normal unix layers we are used to. X.org? Wayland? If so, this is a significant step up in terms of hackability than iOS or Android.

trendnet 14y ago
"If so, this is a significant step up in terms of hackability than iOS or Android." You can ssh into iOS and have all the Unix utilities and full root control for quite some time.
- jspthrowaway2 14y ago
  ...after jailbreaking and modifying. His point was off the bat, legally, or both.
  - josteink 14y ago
    Not to be an über-pedant, but are you implying that it's somehow illegal to take ownership of your own device? In what crazy world do you live?
    - jspthrowaway2 14y ago
      A rapidly-evolving one where the legal status of jailbreaking an iPhone has changed over the last several years and jailbreaking an iPad remains illegal. AKA: The United States.
pandeiro 14y ago
Emacs. And Emacs.
- yakiv 14y ago
  Emacs may be great on desktops, but it probably isn't on hands or smartphones.

tsahyt 14y ago

I've been contemplating the idea of a full fledged Linux as a mobile operating system for a while now. It's great to see that people have already been working on this. I like how it finally offers development in native languages that aren't Objective-C. The UI is looking good and from the presentation it looks usable. If that is really a proper Linux I'll definitely give it a try once I get my hands on it.

wmf 14y ago
I actually bought a Nokia N900 running Maemo. It sucked. Getting a desktop GNOME/Linux stack to work right on phones is a huge amount of work — maybe almost as much as writing Android from scratch (it's hard to tell due to the budget disparity).
- eertami 14y ago
  Unpolished sure but I have to disagree that it sucks. I've solely used an N900 for the last 3 years now. The power of maemo for me overrules the occasional frustrations - I'm just kind of worried about what I'll do if I break it.

mwg66 14y ago

If they get this to market, I'm in.

jiggy2011 14y ago

I hope with their "HTML5 Apps" there will be strong integration with local storage and that the phone will be able to cache all of the assets and JS files etc locally if they are going for "Web apps should be just like native apps". The problem with "cloud apps" on phones is that you run into the real problems of carrier imposed bandwidth limits and slow connectivity in places. Apps that have a horrendously slow UI if you are anywhere outside of a major city will not be much fun to use.

pedalpete 14y ago
Do you really need stronger integration with local storage when you've got HTML5 localstorage? I don't believe there is anything stopping us from caching all the JS in localstorage already, though I haven't done it yet. Apparently, you can even store images in localstorage http://robnyman.github.com/html5demos/localstorage/ http://robnyman.github.com/html5demos/localstorage/
- jiggy2011 14y ago
  Ideally it would be nice to have something that caches stuff in local storage and can make offline copies of HTML pages and JS by default.
  - prostoalex 14y ago
    You mean like App Cache? http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/appcache/beginner/ http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/appcache/beginner/

pablasso 14y ago

It's amusing how mocked Apple's marketing is while still getting copied by huge companies.

BenoitEssiambre 14y ago

This is probably what Android should have been. I'm not a big fan of the Dalvik virtual machine layer on Android. It does drain device resources, especially RAM. I also think this type of architecture would have allowed convergence with Chrome OS more easily and cleanly. I wonder if there is space left in the market for another open source OS though. Most people seem to think Android is open enough. What gives me hope this could succeed is that the Ubuntu desktop is currently the desktop OS that is most user friendly and has the best user experience (IMO). Bringing Ubuntu's design team's superior skills to the mobile platform might give them the edge they need to become relevant in that space. I love my Ubuntu desktop. I really hope this takes off.

mtgx 14y ago
When Nokia started working on Meego, and Microsoft had plans for WP7, I was hoping Nokia would be smart enough to hurry up and form alliances with other manufacturers to become the defacto alternative to Android for all companies who either didn't want to use Android (RIM, HP, themselves) and companies who wanted a second OS for leverage against Google (Samsung, LG, HTC, etc). I think they could've done it if they didn't slack off so much with Meego, and were serious about it, but in the same time I also knew Nokia was way too arrogant for their own good back then, and even if they made Meego on time, they probably wouldn't have shared it with others. But that would've been a mistake, because as we can see no OS that depends on one company alone can succeed anymore. Heck, even the ones that depend on several companies are having a very hard time already (WP7/8). And the reason I would've preferred Meego to become the Android alternative, was because it was also an open source OS, and I would've liked more competition between open source OS's, rather than have just an open source one fight against multiple proprietary ones (iOS, WP, WebOS - at the time). So I think there may still be time left for Ubuntu to become that alternative to Android, especially if manufacturers stop relying on WP8 and even Windows 8, and start to focus more on Ubuntu phones and Ubuntu laptops instead. But it's very hard to see if it will actually happen, right now, and if it does happen, we won't see it until 2014-2015.
- pekk 14y ago
  iOS is successful, is anyone making iOS devices other than Apple?

ebae 14y ago

oh man. do I have to pick up another language for another platform????

dharma1 14y ago
no. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework)
- olivier1664 14y ago
  "Moai" look nice for game. http://getmoai.com/products/sdk/ http://getmoai.com/products/sdk/ HTML5 with canvas+javascript can be an other possibility. (I do not the limits of these tools)

hobbyist 14y ago

I will be buying this phone. Period! Why? The very reason why I use linux on my desktop and android just never gives you the same feeling of being differnt from the rest of the world.

stonekeeper09 14y ago

Will Canonical be in the firing line of Microsoft's lawyers in the same way as some manufacturers selling android phones are? Microsoft make $10 for every android phone. How will this be different?

jpkeisala 14y ago
I am sure it is not only Microsoft who is trolling them if they get any success on this.

ajasmin 14y ago

Stupid question: Is the source code available yet?

p4bl0 14y ago

I wonder if the limitations of the HTML5+JavaScript framework for developping apps on Ubuntu will be removed when Firefox OS is released. Why wouldn't Canonical implement the JS APIs that are built for Firefox OS and make Firefox OS apps runs natively on Ubuntu?

Rickasaurus 14y ago

You'll be happy with Ubuntu on your phone until the first update where they'll randomly replace the audio subsystem and break everything. Not that I'm a bitter ex-Ubuntu user or anything.

rdtsc 14y ago
I would rather have that than shitty 100ms+ audio latency that Android OS has and still hasn't practically fixed (they did theoretically in 4.1+) http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3434 Not that I am a bitter Android VOIP developer or anything ;-)
fixedd 14y ago
Or when the upgrade breaks the ability to go into a low power state. Or when it breaks some of the hardware keys. Or.....

hnriot 14y ago

The phone looks like Win8 Metro, and the presenter is trying to be Steve Jobs. With the cpu's in phones already being phenomenally fast I see little to no value in removing the java layer. Currently this is vaporware, but should it appear on a phone sometime soon, I just don't see it gaining any marketshare beyond some of the hardcore OSS fans. Real people like an app ecosystem with their latest Angry Birds games and don't much care about any of the technical details. The "lock screen" is just weird, and the hyperbole spouted by the presenter was downright embarrassing. It all comes down to the apps. If Google Maps/Gmail/Chrome/Youtube etc all run on it then it might stand a chance, but I don't see further phone market fragmentation as being in anyone's interest. I do, however, use Ubuntu as my main desktop (2.6.38)

jblow 14y ago
Middlebrow dismissal. Believe that all of us working in video games want program execution on mobile devices to be as fast as possible. My brand-new desktop PC is not fast enough for what I want to do, so an Android phone running a bytecode interpreter is that much further. I also don't think you know what "vaporware" means. If it is actually running on physical hardware it's not vaporware; it is just not in consumer hands yet. (Since Engadget has played with it on a physical phone... it is known to be real.)
- wmf 14y ago
  Don't all mobile OSes now allow C/C++ for games? I know Android 2.3+ does. The difference appears to be that Android encourages Java for non-games while Ubuntu will use C++/Qt.
  - ttuominen 14y ago
    Yes, and QML (declarative syntax + Javascript logic) for UI-heavy parts or even complete apps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QML http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QML
- rayiner 14y ago
  Android doesn't use a bytecode interpreter in any modern version.

rradu 14y ago

Swiping from the edge of the screen is not always easy with a protective case on your phone, as it impedes your ability to do so. Pretty annoying problem that I haven't seen that considered in many places.

freehunter 14y ago
The ideal phone wouldn't need a protective case. This is a standard perpetuated by the sleek and thin aspect to flagship phones, and I personally think it's obnoxious. What's the point in having the world's thinnest smartphone if you're going to keep it in the world's thickest case all the time? I'd prefer a phone that is built from the ground up to be secure without a case. My current phone is a Nokia Lumia 920, which can withstand some pretty substantial forces [1] without breaking and without needing a case. And sure it's thick compared to a naked iPhone or SIII, but it's thinner than those phones with a case that would allow them to withstand the same kind of impact. Why do people put up with buying a phone and needing to immediately wrap it in protective rubber and plastic to keep it from shattering? Don't put up with it anymore! Demand reliable hardware! How well it works with a case shouldn't be a determining factor. [1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c8il_Q6SU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3c8il_Q6SU
- xahrepap 14y ago
  While I agree with what you're saying, I think that a good argument in favor of cases is that when the phone finally DOES break, you're replacing the phone. But when your case gets all scratched up and broken, you just replace the case. -Naked Nexus User.
- jordanthoms 14y ago
  Nokia always was great at build quality, it's just a shame it took them so long to figure out that the processor speed and OS is important too.
- Lost_BiomedE 14y ago
  If the battery is removable, like most android phones, you don't need the protective case. If dropped, the battery will come out and take a large force of the fall. iPhones do not do this and need the case. Then it became either trendy, needed for resale, or people don't know that their phone 'exploding' when dropped is a feature. For example, I have dropped my EVO V at least 20 times, onto concrete or tile, without issue.

teyc 14y ago

Here are the reasons why I think Mark Shuttleworth is doing this: Today, Linux is everywhere in the sense that beneath Android – runs Linux. Unfortunately, Ubuntu doesn’t figure in the equation. Tablets, phones are all locked down devices and enthusiast/hobbyist open source doesn’t figure unless drivers are available. To maintain relevance, Ubuntu needs to exist in the mobile space. Today’s announcement is an early one, and is making the same value proposition as Android did early on, before Google’s acquisition. i.e. an open source system that any phone vendor can use to build their smartphone platforms on. The Problems Ubuntu has a remarkably polished desktop product for years but it has remained a fringe product and the PC market has simply stopped growing. Jobs has carefully taken Apple around MS’s hegemony on the desktop by tackling music players first, then a pincer movement through Windows Mobile dominance by producing a very expensive smartphone. Shuttleworth faces not one but several well established and cashed up competitors – Apple, Google/Samsung, Amazon. I haven’t even mentioned Microsoft, or the Chinese Korean and Taiwanese versions of a smartphone OS. Each of them have an arsenal of patents and services that gives them degrees of freedom to move around the space. Google for example commands the email/contacts/calendar integration, YouTube, Maps and Navigation. Google’s approach is to deny competitors full functionality of these services to cripple their smartphone offerings. e.g. turn by turn in the case of iOS, YouTube search APIs in the case of Windows Phones. Apple and Amazon have offered cloud locker services for those who purchased music and books from their online stores. Microsoft has some cards left in enterprise management and server integration. Next steps I believe this is just an initial salvo. Promising compatibility with Android kernel level drivers is a good start. Right now there isn’t enough value proposition for Ubuntu phone in terms of apps or services. Integrating a phone and desktop are novel but it is far from a sure bet. A reference phone design might be good bet if they think it will persuade some of the smaller Chinese manufacturers to jump onboard. However, this will not please Dell. It might make a MIUI-like play, and remain a niche phone OS for several years until the opportunity is right. What Ubuntu really needs to do now as an organisation is to make a sideways bet into iOS and Android. It needs to kick start development of its own mail app, or acquire a navigation maker like Waze, and get these loaded onto the popular phones today. There is still some geek-cred left in Ubuntu for people to load these apps on, and who knows, they might catch on in the enterprise space.

chj 14y ago

Finally a phone OS (other than iOS) where C is a first class citizen. Will be buying.

rayiner 14y ago

Isn't it a bit early for a phone OS when they still can't get out a version of desktop Ubuntu with battery life equal to Windows/Mac OS X?

orbitingpluto 14y ago
Your mileage may vary. I have a laptop that dual boots: 7hrs Ubuntu, 5.5hrs Windows.

reissbaker 14y ago

This is exciting, but... I wish they hadn't gone the route of hiding app controls behind a swipe menu. The menu button on Android was one of the reasons apps for so long seemed unintuitive on the platform, and the Windows 8 charms menu has been panned by critics for the same reason. If your users can't see the controls, they won't know they're there — and even though they could open the menu, it won't feel immediately intuitive in the way that just seeing the controls onscreen does. Even a little breadcrumb like the now-common triple-dash icon on iOS or the triple-dot icon on Android helps people find their way around unfamiliar apps. Android finally dropped the hidden menu after the 2.x series, but it looks like Canonical just walked into making the same mistake. That said this is very, very cool. Using non-mainstream programming languages on phones will be interesting.

knitting 14y ago

I wonder what would make a non-Ubuntu OS user who does not care much about "open source" to choose this over Android.

72deluxe 14y ago

Their plans look surprisingly like a Motorola Atrix! It runs Android normally but also has an old Ubuntu ARM system on it which it runs when docked. Having said this, it needed a severe amount of hacking around and rooting to get it to a usable state and to fix the repositories and broken dependencies and horrible window manager. I have one and its dock plugged into the TV. I also have the Lapdock. It isn't a massively powerful phone but alright for compiling this and that, word processing and SSHing to more powerful machines. Sadly, Motorola have announced that they will make no more of this type of phone as it wasn't overly popular (and the Lapdock and accessories were stupidly expensive) So, with the Ubuntu phone I can see this being popular with a few geeks but not with the mass market. If they stop making Unity behave like it is on a tablet when it is really on a PC, that'd be great. That is one good thing that could come from this, right?

cubsink 14y ago

Finally a mobile device that uses html5-apps as they should be used. This was one of the things I were longing for in Meego but as that project went to hell thanks to Microsoft infiltrating Nokia I may now look forward to this. This seems like a great OS and is very beautiful. I currently have iOS (work) and I hate it with all my heart. I really don't understand why it's so popular.

jasongaya 14y ago

i think ios and android have very big marketing lets see what happen in ubantu os.

nagarjun 14y ago

The idea behind a single OS that works across devices is probably the single greatest thing that any company can do. Having said that, it's very difficult to set up an app framework that allows not only the OS maker but even developers to create a single application that works across devices. Kind of like media queries for native applications.

devilankur18 14y ago

too many new OS in the market ... lets hope non/x-ubuntu users will like it.

teja1990 14y ago

The designers who created the Welcome Screen , kudos to you all , it looks awesome :)

slacka 14y ago

Native Android! I love it! As someone who suffered with a laggy HTML5 based WebOS Pre, then loved his silky smooth 3GS, but left the walled garden for a Galaxy S2, I am thrilled about this. My S2’s H/W by all accounts blows my old 3GS out of the water, yet I still find the experience much more laggy than my 3 year old 3GS. I’m sure much of this is the Java VM holding Android back. I can’t wait to have an Linux phone with the native speed of IOS. Great news!