Canonical today announced a distinctive smartphone interface for its popular operating system, Ubuntu, using all four edges of the screen for a more immersive experience. Ubuntu uniquely gives handset OEMs and mobile operators the ability to converge phone, PC and thin client into a single enterprise superphone.

“We expect Ubuntu to be popular in the enterprise market, enabling customers to provision a single secure device for all PC, thin client and phone functions. Ubuntu is already the most widely used Linux enterprise desktop, with customers in a wide range of sectors focused on security, cost and manageability,” said Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical. “We also see an opportunity in basic smartphones that are used for the phone, SMS, web and email, where Ubuntu outperforms thanks to its native core apps and stylish presentation.”

Ubuntu is aimed at two core mobile segments: the high-end superphone, and the entry-level basic smartphone, helping operators grow the use of data amongst consumers who typically use only the phone and messaging but who might embrace the use of web and email on their phone. Ubuntu also appeals to aspirational prosumers who want a fresh experience with faster, richer performance on a lower bill-of-materials device.

The handset interface for Ubuntu introduces distinctive new user experiences to the mobile market, including:

1. Edge magic: thumb gestures from all four edges of the screen enable users to find content and switch between apps faster than other phones.

2. Deep content immersion - controls appear only when the user wants them.

3. A beautiful global search for apps, content and products.

4. Voice and text commands in any application for faster access to rich capabilities.

5. Both native and web or HTML5 apps.

6. Evolving personalised art on the welcome screen.

Ubuntu offers compelling customisation options for partner apps, content and services. Operators and OEMs can easily add their own branded offerings. Canonical’s personal cloud service, Ubuntu One, provides storage and media services, file sharing and a secure transaction service which enables partners to integrate their own service offerings easily.

Canonical makes it easy to build phones with Ubuntu. The company provides engineering services to offload the complexity of maintaining multiple code bases which has proven to be a common issue for smartphone manufacturers, freeing the manufacturer to focus on hardware design and integration. For silicon vendors, Ubuntu is compatible with a typical Android Board Support Package (BSP). This means Ubuntu is ready to run on the most cost-efficient chipset designs.

In bringing Ubuntu to the phone, Canonical is uniquely placed with a single operating system for client, server and cloud, and a unified family of interfaces for the phone, the PC and the TV. “We are defining a new era of convergence in technology, with one unified operating system that underpins cloud computing, data centers, PCs and consumer electronics” says Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and VP Products at Canonical.

Canonical currently serves the leading PC OEMs: ASUS, Dell, HP, and Lenovo all certify the majority of their PCs on Ubuntu and pre-install it in global markets. Over 20 million desktop PCs run the OS today, and Canonical estimates that close to 10% of the world’s new desktops and laptops will ship with Ubuntu in 2014. Ubuntu is also wildly popular as a server platform, the number one server OS on the key major public clouds and the leading host OS for OpenStack, the open source IAAS.

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Supporting Quotes

Ian Drew, executive vice president, Marketing and Business Development, ARM:

“This announcement is good news for consumers who are already living in a mobile-centric world. Ubuntu will hand users the ability to enjoy a unified experience across the multiple platforms on which they lead their digital lives. It will also help to deliver the highly personalized interface, operating system, content and applications that are central to the creation of compelling new digital experiences.”

Peter Winston, CEO at Integrated Computer Solutions, Inc. (ICS):

"Almost all modern phones have a lot of open source components, it was only a matter of time before someone created a pure open source phone, without the strings attached. A true open source player has the opportunity to be a significant player in the emerging markets, as well as with people already committed to open source. It’s really exciting to see Ubuntu entering into the phone market."

Lars Knoll, CTO and chief maintainer of Qt at Digia:

“Applications are one of the key drivers for the continued growth of the mobile industry. Qt, the de facto standard for native cross-platform application and UI development, has played an important role in this development for more than a decade. We are delighted to see Canonical go mobile, allowing developers to combine the industry proven quality and flexibility of Ubuntu with Qt to deliver superior experiences for end users on exciting new devices and form factor configurations. Ubuntu has been a long supporter of Qt and soon developers will be able to rapidly expand their portfolio to include Ubuntu for mobile, further supporting Digia’s vision of truly bringing Qt to all platforms and form factors.”

Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and VP Products at Canonical:

“We’re shaping the future of personal computing. Ubuntu is proven on the desktop, and uniquely positioned to be at the heart of the next wave of consumer electronics, combining a beautiful hand-held touch interface with a full PC experience when docked.“

Chris Kenyon, VP Sales and Marketing at Canonical

“Ubuntu presents a single platform for all kinds of personal and enterprise computing, a unique opportunity to simplify operations for industry and end-users alike. We are delighted to extend our service offerings from the PC industry into the mobile sector.”

About Canonical

Canonical is the commercial sponsor of the Ubuntu project and the leading provider of support services for Ubuntu deployments in the enterprise.

Ubuntu is a free, open-source platform for client, server and cloud computing. Since its launch in 2004, it has become a natural choice for users of all kinds, from Fortune 500 companies to hardware makers, content providers, software developers and individual technologists.

With developers, support staff and engineering centres all over the world, Canonical is uniquely positioned to help its partners and enterprise customers make the most of Ubuntu. It also operates Ubuntu One, a cross-platform personal cloud service for consumers.

Canonical is a privately held company.