Ubuntu Touch: The smartphone Ubuntu Linux arrives

Ubuntu 13.10 is great on the desktop. On smartphones, Saucy Salamander, aka Ubuntu Touch, is still a work in progress. That said, for mobile programmers and Linux or smartphone power users, there’s a lot to like about this first release of Ubuntu for smartphones and tablets. Here’s what you need to know about it today.

Never forget that Ubuntu Touch is what Canonical, Ubuntu’s parent company, sees as Ubuntu’s real future. The Linux desktop is great, but it shows little sign of paying back Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth’s investment. Ubuntu’s commercial future lies with the OpenStack cloud and Ubuntu Touch.

Canonical has been aiming its GNOME-based interface, Unity, for mobile devices since it was revealed in 2010. Not quite three years later, Canonical still wants to use Unity for all platforms. Ubuntu Touch is the next major step in making this a reality.

SOURCE: zdnet.com