Canonical today announced Ubuntu touch for tablets, a very promising Operating system that will work on 6 inch to 20 inch screen sizes and between 100 to 450 ppi pixel density. What Ubuntu for tablet does is provide the OS that will fit in the tablet, but in essence you will be able to use what’s on the phone, dock it into a tablet and run the applications inside the smartphone on the tablet quite efficiently something like responsive web design.
So Ubuntu wants the same feel from phones, tablets, PCs and Tvs. Ubuntu is a gesture driven OS that has every side of the screen dedicated to a feature. Left reveals the favourite apps, right will reveal an open app, the bottom has the controls of the currently open app while the top reveals the notifications when you do a pull down gesture. Ubuntu for tablets will run both Web and native apps bringing a blend of possibilities for developers.
The Ubuntu for tablets design will allow for:
- Real multitasking: Uniquely, Ubuntu allows a phone app on the screen at the same time as a tablet app. The Ubuntu side stage was invented both to enable efficient multitasking and to improve the usability of phone apps on tablets.
- Secure multi-user: Multiple accounts on one tablet with full encryption for personal data, combined with the trusted Ubuntu security model that is widely used in banks, governments and sensitive environments, making it ideal for work and family use.
- Voice controlled HUD productivity: The Heads-Up Display, unique to Ubuntu, makes it fast and easy to do complex things on touch devices, and transforms touch interfaces for rich applications, bringing all the power of the PC to your tablet.
- Edge magic for cleaner apps: Screen edges are used for navigation between apps, settings and controls. That makes for less clutter, more content, and sleeker hardware. No physical or soft buttons are required. It’s pure touch elegance.
- Content focus: Media is neatly presented on the customisable home screen, which can search hundreds of sources. Perfect for carriers and content owners that want to highlight their own content, while still providing access to a global catalogue.
- Full convergence: The tablet interface is presented by exactly the same OS and code that provides the phone, PC and TV interfaces, enabling true device convergence. Ubuntu is uniquely designed to scale smoothly across all form factors.
Ubuntu will work well with entry level hardware even without chipset-specific optimization. Ubuntu will also allow for thin client functionality for Windows application. This OS will be released on Thursday the 21st of February with installation instructions for the Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 for tablets; Nexus 4 and Galaxy Nexus.
