If you’re brave enough, you can download and install the developer version on certain Android smartphones and tablets .
Ubuntu phone release date and price
The first Ubuntu phone finally went on sale in the form of the Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition and cost €169. The full specifications are below. On June 10 2015, a second Ubuntu phone was announced: the E5. It’s available to pre-order immediately from the BQ website for €199. Orders will start shipping on June 22nd.
BQ Aquaris E5 Ubuntu Edition specifications
The new phone looks like the old one, but is a bit bigger with a 5in HD screen. It still has dual SIM slots, but is still limited to 3G. The rear camera has been beefed up with a 13Mp sensor. 5in IPS screen, 1280×720, 294ppi 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor Mali 400-MP2 running up to 500MHz 1GB RAM 16GB internal storage microSD (up to 32GB) 13Mp rear camera with autofocus and dual LED flash 5Mp front camera Dual micro-SIM slots (3G) 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi Bluetooth 4.0 GPS 2500mAh battery 71x142x9mm 134g
What is Ubuntu phone?
Canonical arrived late to the smartphone and tablet party, but says this is an advantage since it has seen the success of Android and will be able to build upon it. Building upon it means producing a mobile operating system that puts the content you like most at your fingertips. Instead of grids of icons, which Canonical says are outdated, apps and content will be prioritised by ‘scopes’. By the looks of it, these are very much like the carousel of recent content that you get on a Kindle Fire tablet. Plus, when you swipe in from the left, you’ll get a quick launcher full of your favourite apps. And, in a similar minimalist fashion to Windows 8, context-sensitive options are hidden off-screen until you swipe up from the bottom, leaving more room for the apps themselves. This isn’t a success in Windows, as it’s simply confusing, but it might work better on a smaller screen.
One of the big differences between Ubuntu phone and Android, iOS and other mobile operating systems is that it’s designed to work like a desktop OS when connected to a big screen. Instead of mirroring the screen when you plug in an HDMI cable, you’ll dock your phone with a monitor, keyboard and mouse and get a mouse pointer so you can use the OS like Ubuntu on a PC or laptop. According the Shuttleworth, this makes Ubuntu phone a proper personal computer where Android is not. He also said Ubuntu phone wasn’t aimed at iPhone users, who have an “emotional connection” with the ecosystem.
BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition specifications
Here are the specs of the original Ubuntu phone: MediaTek 1.3 GHz quad-core Cortex A7 processor 1 GB RAM 8 GB internal storage microSD (up to 32 GB) 4.5in qHD screen (540 x 960) 8 Mp BSI rear camera 5 Mp front camera Dual-SIM (micro) Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth 4.0 2150 mAh battery 67 x 137 x 9 mm 123 g Jim has been testing and reviewing products for over 20 years. His main beats include VPN services and antivirus. He also covers smart home tech, mesh Wi-Fi and electric bikes.
