Ubuntu will work on smartphones and tablets

According to the founder of the company Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical is going to expand distribution of the Ubuntu Linux OS so that it could be used on the smartphones, tablets and other user electronic devices supporting the touch interface. "Every day users of computers make the calculations using a broad spectrum of devices of a different form factor", - Shuttleworth told. - Canonical wants to install Ubuntu on personal computers of all form factors, phones, tablets and smart screens".

Shattlvort will read the plans on Monday at the summit Ubuntu Developer which is taking place this week in Orlando. At a conference he hopes to raise enthusiasm of those volunteers from among programmers who need the help of Canonical in development of the platform and providing applications for the expanded operating system.

Canonical will meet fierce competition in the markets of tablets and smartphones, despite the current domination of Apple company in these spheres. According to results of a research of ComScore company, Android OS created on the basis of Linux works almost for 40% of smartphones in the USA. It is not so widely presented at the market of tablets, and Microsoft can quite carry out powerful invasion of the Windows 8 OS preparing for these devices.

Shattlvort claims that Ubuntu will be able to provide to developers and users several advantages, in comparison with systems which are already presented at the market. Unlike Google which purchases mobile phone manufacturer Motorola, Canonical is not going to offer the smartphones so presumably it will allow it to look more impartial for zheleza producers. Shattlvort also promises more uniform updating by means of Ubuntu One service, thereby potentially reducing the fragmentation and irregularity of updates to this day tormenting with Android.

According to Shattlvort, Ubuntu will also provide the unified code basis. The developer will be able to write the application for Ubuntu and after the minimum changes to start it on smartphones, tablets and desktop PCs. For this purpose Canonical undertakes a number of actions for Ubuntu preparation now. The controversial decision of the company was made on the Unity interface partly because Unity best of all is suitable for work on different platforms.

According to Shattlvort, basic construction of Unity provides to the company a good position for development of clear family of interfaces. The basic structure of Unity will allow to cover all form factors, saving clarity and the sequence for users and corresponding to unique characteristics of devices of the corresponding form factors, he noted. The company also developed the version of Ubuntu for work on ARM processors which basis will be important for start on the devices created using processors of this vendor.

Canonical did not set the diagram of specific issue dates of the software, but hopes to receive the releases of the new editorial office OS ready for installation for devices, by 2014. The most part of work on the touch interface is already complete and the company hopes that developers at a conference will be able to determine amounts and work types which still should be carried out.

And quite recently, in April, Shattlvort did not express interest in the growing market of tablets, preferring to prepare instead Ubuntu for netbooks, in addition to desktop and server versions of this OS.