Android Users: Would you switch to Ubuntu?

UPDATE:

Official Site says Ubuntu for phones will be properly shown off at CES between 8-11 January and that they're hoping manufactures of some phones will start shipping with Ubuntu already installed on their devices within the year.

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So browsing the web this morning there was a news article that caught my eye. According to the BBC, Ubuntu is soon (around February time) to be ported to the Samsung Nexus, with plans to take it to other Android based phones and tablets shortly after.

According to the article it will be less system intensive, run the full suite of desktop apps and will be able to be ported back across a range of devices, breathing in new life to them along the way. They have also said that they’re urging developers to make tablet and phone sized, touch-screen friendly versions of their apps.

Personally, I really want to jump on this. As of late I’ve been starting to think that my Acer Iconia A500 is getting a bit slow and being able to flash Ubuntu on it would not only open up a wealth of new applications to try on it but it would also make my device feel new and fresh again, potentially saving me a couple of hundred quid in the process. It could also be the springboard I need to get learning what exactly Linux is and why its users rave about it so much. If it was a success on my tablet I would have no doubt about running an Ubuntu phone. Couldn’t be more excited.

Would you take your Android devices and remove the Android OS in favour of Ubuntu?

That seems like a terrible, terrible idea.

Also I own a Windows Phone. But still.

@SamStrife: Nah.

But I would absolutely dual boot it if that was an option. Ubuntu is always a nice backup OS.

Not really. I'm quite happy with ICS on my device. I really don't need to have a "full desktop experience" on my phone.

@JJWeatherman said:

That seems like a terrible, terrible idea.

Also I own a Windows Phone. But still.

Why does it sound like a terrible idea? If it makes a device feel new again and is well enough optimised, I see no harm.

@TruthTellah said:

@SamStrife: Nah.

But I would absolutely dual boot it if that was an option. Ubuntu is always a nice backup OS.

Dual booting on a phone would probably be a bit too much but if that was an option, yeah, it would be a no-brainer.

maybe on my tablet to arse around with for a while. but not on my phone.

@SamStrife said:

@JJWeatherman said:

That seems like a terrible, terrible idea.

Also I own a Windows Phone. But still.

Why does it sound like a terrible idea? If it makes a device feel new again and is well enough optimised, I see no harm.

It just doesn't sound like a particularly good idea, I suppose. Admittedly, and obviously, I haven't used Ubuntu on a phone before, but Jellybean has taken Android to new levels of awesome, and even ICS was a huge turning point for Android. Android is finally good, so why now of all times would anyone want to slap an experimental OS onto their device? I suppose if your Acer tablet is still on Honeycomb and aging as it is, then it would be a fun experiment, but not something I'd want to do on a device I actually rely on in any capacity. But that's just me. Part of my feelings are certainly a result of being sick and tired of messing around with Android ROMs. That stuff's fun to an extent, but at some point I just want things to work.

@SamStrife said:

@TruthTellah said:

@SamStrife: Nah.

But I would absolutely dual boot it if that was an option. Ubuntu is always a nice backup OS.

Dual booting on a phone would probably be a bit too much but if that was an option, yeah, it would be a no-brainer.

I looked into dual-booting Cyanogen and the stock Kindle Fire ROM before I sold my Fire. I never followed through, but I'm fairly sure it's possible to do, just a bit of a pain. Ease will certainly vary by device.

@JJWeatherman said:

It just doesn't sound like a particularly good idea, I suppose. Admittedly, and obviously, I haven't used Ubuntu on a phone before, but Jellybean has taken Android to new levels of awesome, and even ICS was a huge turning point for Android. Android is finally good, so why now of all times would anyone want to slap an experimental OS onto their device? I suppose if your Acer tablet is still on Honeycomb and aging as it is, then it would be a fun experiment, but not something I'd want to do on a device I actually rely on in any capacity. But that's just me. Part of my feelings are certainly a result of being sick and tired of messing around with Android ROMs. That stuff's fun to an extent, but at some point I just want things to work.

That sounds reasonable to me. Of all the things I've done with my phone, messing around with custom ROMs is one I've somehow managed to stay clear of, so I'm not yet burnt out on that idea. ICS and Jellybean are great, that's also true.

This would certainly be something I do on my tablet before my phone, now its lost its support and cannot be flashed any further. It could do wonders for it, opening up new possibilities that sadly are no longer there.

The best thing about this story however is that it's not some group of hacker kids in their bedrooms putting this together; it's the actual Ubuntu people. That to me says this isn't going to be some hacked in, temperamental OS but instead a fully worked out and supported one, which is something that has always put me off custom ROMs in the first place.

@SamStrife said:

@TruthTellah said:

@SamStrife: Nah.

But I would absolutely dual boot it if that was an option. Ubuntu is always a nice backup OS.

Dual booting on a phone would probably be a bit too much but if that was an option, yeah, it would be a no-brainer.

Well, you can dualboot on Nook tablets and even a Nook Simple Touch; so, I imagine a powerful smartphone could handle an Ubuntu dual-boot just fine.

@SamStrife said:

@JJWeatherman said:

It just doesn't sound like a particularly good idea, I suppose. Admittedly, and obviously, I haven't used Ubuntu on a phone before, but Jellybean has taken Android to new levels of awesome, and even ICS was a huge turning point for Android. Android is finally good, so why now of all times would anyone want to slap an experimental OS onto their device? I suppose if your Acer tablet is still on Honeycomb and aging as it is, then it would be a fun experiment, but not something I'd want to do on a device I actually rely on in any capacity. But that's just me. Part of my feelings are certainly a result of being sick and tired of messing around with Android ROMs. That stuff's fun to an extent, but at some point I just want things to work.

That sounds reasonable to me. Of all the things I've done with my phone, messing around with custom ROMs is one I've somehow managed to stay clear of, so I'm not yet burnt out on that idea. ICS and Jellybean are great, that's also true.

This would certainly be something I do on my tablet before my phone, now its lost its support and cannot be flashed any further. It could do wonders for it, opening up new possibilities that sadly are no longer there.

The best thing about this story however is that it's not some group of hacker kids in their bedrooms putting this together; it's the actual Ubuntu people. That to me says this isn't going to be some hacked in, temperamental OS but instead a fully worked out and supported one, which is something that has always put me off custom ROMs in the first place.

Now that's definitely a good point. But even with professionals behind the scenes, it'll probably be later than February before all of the kinks are worked out.

I've also just never really gotten into Ubuntu as a desktop OS, but maybe it would make more sense on a phone. It's all fairly interesting, that's for sure.

Nah I'm good. Android is the best phone OS out. (JB)

@TruthTellah said:

Well, you can dualboot on Nook tablets and even a Nook Simple Touch; so, I imagine a powerful smartphone could handle an Ubuntu dual-boot just fine.

I didn't know that. That's kind of awesome.

@Sooty said:

Nah I'm good. Android is the best phone OS out. (JB)

I agree with that. But Ubuntu could give it a run for its money if done well and could easily be a better tablet OS.

@Sooty said:

Nah I'm good. Android is the best phone OS out. (JB)

after treating myself to a nexus 7 over the christmas break and already having an iphone 4 i really fail to see why you think andriod is a better OS.

both have there pro's and cons imo and there really is no clear winner.

ok a can customise android more than i can iOS but i have way more apps to chose from on iOS.

Maybe I´ll try it after a few months, when it´s been tested by other people.

Who knows could be interesting. But i don't see any reason not to stick with vanilla Android delivered from Google to my Nexus. I mean it just works. But hey an Ubuntu mobile OS could probably make calls and send SMS just as well too.

@Bell_End said:

@Sooty said:

Nah I'm good. Android is the best phone OS out. (JB)

after treating myself to a nexus 7 over the christmas break and already having an iphone 4 i really fail to see why you think andriod is a better OS.

both have there pro's and cons imo and there really is no clear winner.

ok a can customise android more than i can iOS but i have way more apps to chose from on iOS.

It is capable of more, it's the better OS, it's pretty simple. Notifications are superb on Android, crap on iOS and Google services are better than Apples. (which all work better on Android)

and come now, iOS is stale, it's looking outdated and bland. One more thing about Android...widgets! Widgets are awesome, can't live without them on my phone.

Now, app selection wise yeah sure iOS is better for games, but for everything else I'm fine with Android. I don't really care about phone gaming, I usually browse the web instead if I have some spare time and only my phone on me, for trips or train journeys I'd much rather have my Vita or iPad with me than game on a phone.

Note I am talking about Android on phone only, I think it sucks on tablets, that's why I have an iPad and my phone is an S3. (well, it doesn't suck, it's still a better OS, but apps wise Android is pretty terrible on tablet)

The tinkerer in me would want to, but the lazy in me would keep reminding that tinkerer that at some point I would probably have to switch it back and switching it back would be a pain.

Besides, I have used my dad's Android phone and I'd say it's pretty close to a full-on OS in your pocket anyway. If you could plug it up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you wouldn't have much want for basic computing needs.

@Sooty said:

It is capable of more, it's the better OS, it's pretty simple. Notifications are superb on Android, crap on iOS and Google services are better than Apples. (which all work better on Android)

and come now, iOS is stale, it's looking outdated and bland. One more thing about Android...widgets! Widgets are awesome, can't live without them on my phone.

Now, app selection wise yeah sure iOS is better for games, but for everything else I'm fine with Android. I don't really care about phone gaming, I usually browse the web instead if I have some spare time and only my phone on me, for trips or train journeys I'd much rather have my Vita or iPad with me than game on a phone.

Note I am talking about Android on phone only, I think it sucks on tablets, that's why I have an iPad and my phone is an S3. (well, it doesn't suck, it's still a better OS, but apps wise Android is pretty terrible on tablet)

I agree with this pretty much to the latter. The fact that Android makes for such a poor tablet OS makes me believe that having Ubuntu on it would be even more valuable.

I've been doing some research all day and basically I'm going to hack the hell out of my tablet and put a custom Jellybean ROM on there. That should breath the new life into it for the time being and, when it's released, I will put Ubuntu on it (maybe as a dual boot at first) when that's all stable and my device supports it.

@believer258 said:

The tinkerer in me would want to, but the lazy in me would keep reminding that tinkerer that at some point I would probably have to switch it back and switching it back would be a pain.

Besides, I have used my dad's Android phone and I'd say it's pretty close to a full-on OS in your pocket anyway. If you could plug it up to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, you wouldn't have much want for basic computing needs.

Using a bluetooth mouse/keyboard is awesome as it puts the little mouse cursor on your screen. It's actually really smart.

I'm all about them Gelatinous Beans nowadays.

It's seriously great.

@Sooty said:

@Bell_End said:

@Sooty said:

Nah I'm good. Android is the best phone OS out. (JB)

after treating myself to a nexus 7 over the christmas break and already having an iphone 4 i really fail to see why you think andriod is a better OS.

both have there pro's and cons imo and there really is no clear winner.

ok a can customise android more than i can iOS but i have way more apps to chose from on iOS.

It is capable of more, it's the better OS, it's pretty simple. Notifications are superb on Android, crap on iOS and Google services are better than Apples. (which all work better on Android)

and come now, iOS is stale, it's looking outdated and bland. One more thing about Android...widgets! Widgets are awesome, can't live without them on my phone.

Now, app selection wise yeah sure iOS is better for games, but for everything else I'm fine with Android. I don't really care about phone gaming, I usually browse the web instead if I have some spare time and only my phone on me, for trips or train journeys I'd much rather have my Vita or iPad with me than game on a phone.

Note I am talking about Android on phone only, I think it sucks on tablets, that's why I have an iPad and my phone is an S3. (well, it doesn't suck, it's still a better OS, but apps wise Android is pretty terrible on tablet)

As a recent convert from the iPhone 4 to the Note 2, I agree with pretty much everything you said. The game selection is slimmer on Android, but like you I have an iPad for that. Having yet another OS out there to develop for (Ubuntu) would like further split the market in terms of app/game development. Already, some developers don't want to support Android due to the differences in hardware of the hundreds of phones out there. I can't remember who said it, but a developer of a popular game said about 95% of support tickets were about the game not working on a certain Android device.

I think Ubuntu for tablets would be a boon considering I'd have so much use for tablets running Ubuntu with the kinda work I do, but I doubt I'd need to go far as use it for my phone. I love jellybean on my phone too much.

Nope, I like Android.

It sounds interesting but I would wait and see, as with most things.