Ubuntu for Android: Complete Ubuntu Desktop for Docked Android Smartphones

Canonical is now working on a new product called Ubuntu for Android. The aim of the product is to bring Ubuntu, “the popular Linux distribution,” to high-end Android smartphones.

Ubuntu for Android will offer a complete Ubuntu desktop experience on the smartphone along the standard Android environment. Users will first need to plug-in their Android device to a dock that will connect to a keyboard and monitor. Once docked, the Android phone’s data, apps and connectivity can be easily accessed within the Ubuntu desktop PC.

Ubuntu for Android variant will make use of the underlying Android (Linux) kernel. It is further designed to take advantage of the dual-core ARM CPU. The new Ubuntu variant will come bundled with a number of popular applications while having a deep integration with the Android environment on the user’s phone.

Ubuntu for Android

The default application included are the Chromium Web browser, Thunderbird e-mail client, Gwibber social networking program, VLC media player, and some other useful software. Since, the product has comprehensive integration with the Android environment, it includes a unified contact system. The unified contact system will make the user’s Android contacts fully accessible in the Ubuntu environment.

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth discussed the new product in a blog entry, noting that the product will be demonstrated at the Mobile World Congress event next week. He also said that this isn’t the “Ubuntu Phone”. The phone experience here is pure Android. It’s important to note that Ubuntu for Android is a distinct product and readers should not confuse it with the Ubuntu mobile operating system that Canonical plans to deliver in 2014.

“Carry just the phone, and connect it to any monitor to get a full Ubuntu desktop with all the native apps you want, running on the same device at the same time as Android. Magic. Everything important is shared across the desktop and the phone in real-time,” Shuttleworth wrote. “It just works, the way Ubuntu should. Lots of work behind the scenes to make both systems share what they need to share, but the desktop is a no-compromise desktop.”

Softpedia has presented a video demonstrating the product. You can watch the video below.

What is your take on the new Ubuntu for Android? Share with us through the comments below.

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