Ubuntu For Tablets Announced

hypnosec writes "Keeping its promise from yesterday Ubuntu has announced an operating system for tablets dubbed 'Ubuntu for Tablets' that it says will work on tablets of any size. Advertised to work on both entry level tablets as well as high-end tablets with enterprise specifications, the operating system offers multitasking, safer sharing, instant launch of applications through the menu bar on the left, effortless switching between applications among other features." The tablet version of the OS will also be presented at Mobile World Congress later this month. Also featured at SlashCloud.

Ehhh

[Anonymous Coward]

And still no OEM partners like with the Ubuntu TV that we were going to be able to buy by the end of last year. This is going fail and fail hard. Maybe Canonical will then just go away and stop trying to push spyware on people.

Re:oh canonical

[crazyjj]

Canonical is no longer a linux company, it's a company that uses linux.

Being that Linux can never really be "owned" by any one company, isn't that a given?

Re:Who cares ?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't want either iOS or Android, but I might get a tablet with KDE Plasma Active.

Re:Who cares ?

[Albanach]

Only a year or so ago, you could have said "If the Tablet won't run iOS then no one will ever buy it. It's an dead investment."

Today we have plenty of Android tablets gaining a footprint. Microsoft aren't going to let go of the market segment easily either, even after their late start and poor initial showing. I'm not sure why you think an Ubuntu tablet is doomed to failure.

What's going to be important is showing it can do things the others can't or won't. Some of the multi-tasking on their video looks impressive and may offer that differentiation.

Re:dad, what is linux ?

[Gordonjcp]

Everyone uses Linux. You're using it right now. Even Microsoft uses Linux extensively.

The simple fact of the matter is that Linux became *the* mainstream OS a decade ago, and you never even noticed.

Re:oh canonical

[Anonymous Coward]

No, I don't think we do. What exactly *is* a 'linux company'? Is Redhat a linux company? What about Oracle? Intel?

I think perhaps the distinction is, for example, Microsoft is a company that uses linux. They have to in order to test and develop Hyper-V, since its advertised to work with Linux. They use it.

A linux company is a company that makes money off of selling a distribution or application or services for Linux, making active changes back into the community. By that standard, all the companies I listed above, *including Ubuntu*, are 'linux companies'.

You don't have to like Ubuntu, but you can't deny they've done some really great things for the community. Nothing they do is 'closed source', and you can like or hate their development and future planning methods (I think you have an issue with Unity, thats where most of the Ubuntu haters come from), but they are open and friendly to the community.

Re:Who cares ?

[GIL_Dude]

Doomed to failure? No, not completely. But when you are this late to market and your competitors have entrenched and solid ecosystems, your stuff better kick some serious ass and be available on some seriously nice hardware and have a thriving app ecosystem ready to go. Otherwise? Yes, pretty much doomed. You end up struggling mightily like Microsoft is with Windows 8 Phone. It is actually a decent OS and the hardware is pretty much on par with other phones. But it doesn't come out and just blow the others in the market away and the app ecosystem is not really "there" yet (which is why I have an Android phone). So they languish unsold. A tablet competitor like Ubuntu would be the same way. Make it really rock out of the box and get some devs on it right now or it won't go very far very fast.

Re:Who cares ?

[saihung]

iOS has existed since 2007. The iPad has been in existence for less than 3 years as a freestanding product. Don't fool yourself. However entrenched you think one operating system or manufacturer may be in this sector, all it takes is a little bit of rot and a solid kick to turn the entire thing onto its head.

Android app compatability?

[Psyborgue]

Without this, I can't see much adoption. Who wants to buy a tablet if it has no apps? Linux has plenty, sure, but are they optimized for a tablet interface? Given that it's already a linux kernel, wouldn't it be possible to add the dalvik VM and run android apps? So far as I undrestand, this was the case with the previous Nexus 7 iteration of Ubuntu. Why was this changed? If they release this for Nexus 7, i'll probably run it off a USB stick if possible, but I won't flash it over android unless there is some compatibility there. Simply put, I've purchased Android apps, and I don't want to lose those.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Android app compatability?

[Psyborgue]

You miss my point, which is that while plenty of linux apps already exist, few have table compatible UIs. You're also leaving out the fact that many commercial apps and games, such as Steam and World of Goo, for example, are for the moment x86 only, and are likely to remain that way unless there is enough adoption of Ubuntu Tablet to justify a port (assuming it requires more than just a recompile, which is likely). My prediction is without Android compatibility, no tablet manufacturer will adopt Ubuntu, and without significant adoption, no developers of existing Linux apps will bother writing new UIs for Ubuntu Tablet. You absolutely need to start off a new mobile OS with a rich selection of appropriate (eg. Tablet UI) apps or you're dead in the water.