The smartphone market currently is divided between two different types, based on their software — Android and iOS. There have been a few other options in the market, such as Windows Phone and others, but none of them were successful.

There was a mobile operating system called Ubuntu Touch, based on the popular Linux distribution — Ubuntu. While Canonical, the company behind Ubunut, gave up its efforts on Ubuntu Touch, here is one of the best example of the device running it.

Planet Computers is the company behind Cosmo Communicator and it had promised to open up the device to more operating systems. It has been working to get Ubuntu Touch and now it seems that the outcome is finally here.

The device, named Cosmo Communicator, is basically a computer in the pocket which also supports calling functionality. The device is designed in such as a way that it works in landscape orientation and there’s a hardware keyboard for typing.

The operating system, Ubuntu Touch, was designed for smartphones but it also made flexible enough to be able to run on smartphones, tablets, and even PCs. And given that it is based on Linux, the software supports several functions.

A formal release of this is expected to happen later this year. The company is said to be working with the UBports community and the Linux community at large to bring support for other Linux distributions to its portable computers.

Meanwhile, Planet Computers has a new smartphone + PC device coming up — Astro Slide 5G, which is currently up for crowdfunding.

RELATED:

• JingOS arrives as China’s first Linux Distro, offers iPadOS-like features and functions
• Samsung Tizen OS becomes the leading Smart TV platform globally
• Ubuntu Touch can be now installed on Redmi Note 7

The post Cosmo Communicator running Ubuntu Touch operating system surface online appeared first on Gizmochina.

Gone are the days when modding was a popular ritual among Android smartphone enthusiasts. Although the community still persists, it is limited due to the rearchitecting of Android over the years. With that being said, booting a different OS altogether on an Android smartphone has always been a difficult task. Luckily, a developer going by the name erfanoadbi on XDA developers have successfully ported Ubuntu Touch for the Redmi Note 7.

#UbuntuTouch for #RedmiNote7.

Will come… when it's ready.@tuxphones @UBports pic.twitter.com/aWrlTygruF

— Danct12 (@RealDanct12) March 17, 2020

Xiaomi smartphones have always been popular in the modding community since the beginning, especially those powered by Qualcomm chipsets. And thus, Redmi Note 7 is no exception and it supports plenty of custom ROMs officially. As of now, all the custom firmware available for this device is based on Android just like any other handset. But now, after a year from its release, the phone can finally boot Ubuntu Touch, thanks to recognized developer erfanoabdi.

The developer managed to port Ubuntu Touch for Redmi Note 7 by using an existing port of Fxtec Pro 1 based on Project Halium by the developer NotKit. He also used preliminary device trees of Redmi 4X Ubuntu Touch build by another developer named Danct12 for this purpose. Also, in case anyone is interested to test it, he has already uploaded pre-built images for the public to try out. However, this project is merely a proof of concept at the moment as only WiFi as well as touch and Hardware Composer (display with acceleration) work for now.

Ubuntu Touch on Redmi Note 7

1 of 4

Having said that, since the installation process is not straightforward for an average joe, it is better to wait for a future stable build as well as an easy installation method (hopefully).

UP NEXT: Redmi Note 7 made it to the top 10 best-selling smartphones of 2019: Report

(Source)

The post Ubuntu Touch can be now installed on Redmi Note 7 appeared first on Gizmochina.

Unlike other manufacturers, Meizu has a unique strategy when it comes to smartphones. It was one of the few manufacturers to use Samsung’s chipsets inside its flagship phones, and for other devices, it uses Mediatek and not Qualcomm chips. Further, it has become a tradition for the company to unveil Ubuntu edition variants of its flagship smartphones, and it looks like this year, the company will continue the same. So, after releasing Meizu MX4, and Pro 5 Ubuntu Edition, the company is now set to release the Meizu MX6 Ubuntu Edition model. Today, a few promo pictures of the device were leaked online.

This year it looks like the MX6 is getting the Ubuntu variant. The images confirm the model as well as the pricing, which will be 399 Euros. Another confirmation is the processor inside, which will be none other than the deca-core Helio X20 chip with Mali-T880 GPU.

Looks wise, there are no surprises. We already have seen a couple of back cover images of the MX6 in previous leaks, but this is probably how it will end up looking on the front. These images also confirm that the phone will feature the company’s mBack home button which should also have a fingerprint sensor on board.

READ MORE: Meizu Vs Qualcomm: Meizu Wants To Settle But Only At A Reasonable Price

Our previous experience tells us that the Ubuntu editions have specs identical to the regular Flyme powered versions. So, it is likely that the MX6 regular edition also runs on Helio X20. Other possible features similar on both the variants should be 4GB of RAM. According to the latest information, Meizu is expected to unveil the brand new device on July 19 but we haven’t received a confirmation from the company yet.

Stay tuned for more details.

(source)

The post Meizu MX6 Ubuntu Edition Spotted In Promo Pictures appeared first on Gizmochina.

There are not a lot of Ubuntu Phones in the market today, but the folks over at UBports.com are trying to port Canonical’s Ubuntu Touch OS to as many devices as possible. Given that OnePlus 3 is one of the hot phones in the market right now, the team has confirmed that they will be bringing Ubuntu Touch to the OnePlus flagship as well. This is great news for all OnePlus fans who want to see how the OS will run on the powerful OnePlus 3.

Mr. Gripsgard, part of the UBports team has ordered the phone and will start on the development and porting of the OS as soon as the phone arrives. Considering the top-end specifications of the device, especially the 6GB RAM on board, it would be interesting to see how the Convergence feature of Ubuntu works on the device. To remind you, “Convergence” is a pretty cool feature on the Ubuntu Touch OS, wherein you can connect your smartphone to any monitor and Ubuntu Desktop interface will load up on the screen. So, basically, your phone will transform into a desktop environment when connected to an external display.  All apps running on the phone will pop on the monitor seamlessly and even when you disconnect, the apps like music or video which was playing on the monitor will appear on the phone.

To recap, the OnePlus 3 comes with the Snapdragon 820 chipset on board with 6GB of RAM as standard and 64GB of internal storage without a MicroSD card slot. There will be a 5.5-inch 1080p display on board and a 3000mAh battery with the company’s own Dash charging tech. At the back, the phone comes with a 16MP camera with OIS, while up front, you have an 8MP front facing shooter. If you want to read the full specs of the OnePlus 3, check out this article.

So, would you like to see Ubuntu Touch OS running on your OnePlus 3? Check out their page from here.

The post OnePlus 3 Will Become An Unofficial Ubuntu Phone, Currently In Development appeared first on Gizmochina.

Ubuntu Touch will be available for any devices, including Smartphone, Tablet and PC. Mark Shuttelworth as the founder of Canonical has claimed that the Ubuntu Touch will be more better than Windows Phone operating system and iOS.

The Ubuntu developers is doing a hard effort to realize their idea about the total convergence for several years. Microsoft and Apple is doing the same thing, you will see that Windows and iOS both seemed also refer to the same direction of the total convergence.

Mark Shuttleworth is the first person who talk about the convergence, and Ubuntu is certainly be able to provide nore better capabilities that other platform since Ubuntu is available for free.

Here is the video of Mark Shuttleworth talking about Ubuntu Touch OS:

The post Ubuntu Touch will be more better than Windows Phone and Android appeared first on Gizmochina.