The Ubuntu operating system has been adapted to run on smartphones.
The Linux-based software will allow users to run desktop apps on their handsets, allowing them to double for PCs when docked to monitors.The code will initially be released as a file which can be installed on Samsung's Galaxy Nexus phone, replacing Android. Some analysts question whether consumers really want the power of a fully fledged computer on their phone.Even so, Ubuntu's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, said he was in talks with manufacturers for devices to be sold with the system pre-installed within the year.
Powerful apps
Ubuntu is the most popular operating system to be based on the Linux kernel - the code that lets software and hardware work together. The London-based firm behind it, Canonical, offers it for download free of charge and has been helped by thousands of volunteers who contribute to the open source project. The firm makes money back by offering support and training and also plans to take a share of sales from online marketplaces offered by handset makers who adopt its software.It estimates that more than 20 million PCs already use it.
In many cases these are older machines which benefit from the fact it is less demanding on computer power than Windows - and is virus-free.
Unconvinced about convergence
A version of the code will shortly be made available to developers to start adapting their apps.The firm then plans to release a file for Galaxy Nexus phones by February, and later for other handsets and ultimately tablet computers as well. One analyst suggested the news would raise awareness of the Ubuntu system, but was sceptical about its chances of success. "It's an impressive move by Ubuntu but ultimately I don't think it's a smart move," said Chris Green, principal technology analyst at Davies Murphy Group Europe.
They are not the first company to try and drop a desktop operating system on a mobile device and nobody has ever been able to make it work. Microsoft tried to foist something that looked and felt like normal Windows on a mobile phone and they had to screw it up and develop a separate phone system.
If you look at the platforms that thrive at the moment it's the ones that have diverged and had a platform designed for mobile on their mobile devices and a platform designed for conventional PCs on those.
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