Technology world has been waiting for Ubuntu Phone for quite a while now. After the first glimpse of the concept which was two years ago, it hasn’t been in news. But now the wait seems to be over as Canonical, backed up by hardware manufacturer BQ, is all set to release the first Ubuntu OS phones very soon now. These Ubuntu OS smartphones will only be available in Europe region for now as no plans on distribution of the devices are revealed for other parts in the world. The device is priced at EUR 169.90 (about INR 12,000).
First Ubuntu OS powered device is named as BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition, which was until now available with Android KitKat 4.4 OS. This dual-SIM enabled device has similar specifications to that of the original version of the model and changes rendered areon the software front. Aquaris Ubuntu Edition features a 4.5-inch qHD (540*960 pixels) resolution display unit. The device packs a quad-core MediaTek (Cortex A7) processor clocked at 1.3GHz. For handling the graphics, processor is equipped with Mali 400 GPU and gets a RAM space of 1GB. Internal memory capacity is of 8GB and the storage capacity can be expanded up to 32GB.
Aquaris E4.5 sports an 8MP primary snapper with a BSI sensor and a dual LED flash unit and the secondary snapper is of 5MP. Much for the joy of shutterbugs, both these snappers feature interpolation or picture-stitching technology. This technology allows the users to click 13MP images with rear camera and 8MP pictures with the secondary camera. Connectivity features for the device are 3G support, WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS, micro-USB and FM radio. This device is backed up by 2150mAh Li-Polymer battery. Check this space for the concept videos of Ubuntu phone.
Notable feature of the Aquaris E4.5 is that it won’t include apps. Instead, the company will deploy a new user experience paradigm called ‘Scopes’ – a contextual home screen dashboard. Canonical promises that this would be simpler, less time consuming and smarter eco-system for the developers. The company has tied up with major developers to ensure that popular apps like Facebook, Twitter, Dropbox, Amazon, etc. are ready by its launch. This device will be offered by means of periodic flash sales concept which has proved to be a assured hit in Indian markets already. Telecom service providers like giffgaff in UK, amena in Spain, 3 in Sweden and Portugal Telecom will offer SIM bundles in their respective regions.
The Ububtu OS certainly holds up for the excitement generated in users around the world. Ubuntu phone has adapted the Firefox OS philosophy of HTML5 web applications running on the device. Nevertheless, this is a big step by Canonical as this move means that it is taking heads on with Android, iOS and other established platforms.
