[vibrunazo]

Here's their developer site: http://developer.ubuntu.com/get-started/gomobile/

From what it looks like, I'd need to redesign my apps from ground up using QML. They could have leveraged Android apps ecossystem, like Amazon, OUYA and even BB10 are doing. But chose not to. Out of nothing other than greed. And for that one reason, I predict dead on arrival.

Edit: Just had an Ubuntu community manager answer my question on their official g+ hangout. And confirmed that indeed. You'd have to redesign apps for it from scratch in QML. Nor are they planing to make Android apps compatible, nor easy to port in any way. Oh well, I'm certainly not gonna waste my time developing for yet another platform. Goodbye.

[StavrosK]

How could they? This isn't Android, it's an entirely different OS. If it ran Android apps, it might as well be a custom launcher instead.

[vibrunazo]

They had a working prototype that would run Android and Ubuntu side by side. Would work as a standard Android phone. But when you dock it to the desktop, it's a 100% capable Ubuntu computer, sharing resources with Android. That was perfect. It's the best of both worlds, I'm sure it would be a huge hit. Leverage both the Android mobile ecosystem + Linux desktop at once? That was genius. But instead they chose the greedy path and try to control all of it themselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv1Z7bf4jXY

edit: I just learned that Ubuntu for Android was not abandoned. It's still a separate project. They wanna release Ubuntu for Android first in mid 2013. And hopefully that will be a gateway to get Android users interested in the Ubuntu Phone which will launch in 2014.

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android

[StavrosK]

Yeah, I loved that, but it wasn't a mobile OS, it was just Ubuntu running as an Android app. It didn't even have a UI om the phone, IIRC.

[socceroos]

No it isn't an app. It is actually the full Ubuntu OS running on your android device. The point wasn't for it to be a touch screen, the point was that you could dock your device and suddenly be using a full desktop OS with all your desktop grade applications.

[StavrosK]

Yes, but it's running inside Android. It's not a complete OS that takes over the phone.

[socceroos]

No, no its not running inside Android. Android and its Java environment run alongside/at the same time as ubuntu.

[polshaw]

Motorola were the only OEM to have interest in ubuntu for android.. they took it, and completely ruined it.[1] There was no greed on canonical's part. I'm not sure whether i'd prefer 'android+ubuntu', or this 'ubuntu for all the screens' (existing ecosystem with mature OS vs a real free, unified desktop+mobile OS), but they aren't dropping either, apparently. I do wish they would allow the developer community access to their builds, though. I want it now!

1. see webtop; also look on XDA to see how to partially restore it to canonical's idea.

[mbel]

Another mobile framework, but not a new thing by any means. There are already plenty of Qt apps and libs (desktop + Symbian apps written with Qt4.8 + QML) out there.

But yes, porting from Android/Windows/iOS might be painfull.

[bamdadd]

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