Ubuntu VS WP*

[Laura Knotek]

When I experimented with Ubuntu years ago, I installed a Wine environment that almost kinda sorta ran older DirectX games.

I've also installed Wine in Ubuntu, openSUSE and Mint.

I doubt if that option will work with the new, popular games on a mobile device.

 

[socialcarpet]

What does this mean for WP8 now?

After Teasing Its Touch-Friendly Future, Canonical Officially Reveals The Ubuntu Phone OS | TechCrunch

I don't think it will be a threat to Windows Phone or anything else. As was said, its going to be a niche product. Much like Sailfish, the reborn Meego OS, it's a niche product without much of a niche. Few are going to want a phone OS with virtually no support from the outside world and few mainstream apps to choose from. Windows Phone has a hard time as it is gaining new users and it's hardly a niche product.

That said, I am a fan of Ubuntu and I like the idea of a real Linux phone running native apps instead of a Linux offshoot running Java apps through a virtual machine (Android) which I've always seen as an imperfect solution.

I also think the Ubuntu phone OS shows some real ingenuity in the UI design, so does Sailfish. Even though I don't think either of them is going to catch on, I think Microsoft should be paying close attention.

One of the biggest reasons I love Windows Phone is because Microsoft did a very un-Microsoft thing with it. They decided to color outside the lines, to abandon the traditional grid of icons motif and conventional UI design. They began from the ground up and designed the first smartphone OS that is truly user-centric instead of an app-centric. I think the significance of that can't be overstated, in fact I think most of the time people who just review Windows Phone or don't use it, miss that subtle, but key attribute that makes Windows Phone truly different. It doesn't just look different, it WORKS different and that makes it more pleasing to use in many ways than the typical smartphone which just feels like a launcher for a bunch of disparate apps. Canonical clearly saw the brilliance of that concept because they are applying it in their own way to the Ubuntu phone OS.

The reason I think Microsoft should be paying close attention to Ubuntu and Sailfish is because that is the real future of the smartphone. Something that is greater than the some of its parts. Whereas iOS and Android are the past of the smartphone. My hope is that Microsoft will continue to be brave enough to keep thinking outside the box. I'd hate to see Windows Phone just stay where it is, making only incremental improvements to the original concept.

Stick to the elegant simplicity idea, but don't be afraid to add capabilities for more advanced users and don't be afraid to keep pushing the envelope with the way the UI functions. In particular think the gestures idea and the way in which multitasking works in the Ubuntu phone and Blackberry 10 are things Microsoft should seriously consider in designing the next major revision of Windows Phone. I think that differentiation, smart differentiation through better design, not just merely looking different, is the key to Windows Phone's future growth.

 

[AngryNil]

Who is going to buy this over Android, and why?

 

[socialcarpet]

Who is going to buy this over Android, and why?

True Linux enthusiasts who appreciate a real Linux device that runs native apps rather than a dirty little Linux offshoot that stumbles through Java apps in a virtual machine and doesn't contribute to the Linux kernel.

People who don't care for iOS, Android or Windows Phone and want something different with an attractive and sophisticated UI and aren't afraid to jump into a platform that has an uncertain future and probably won't have many of the most popular apps.

Android users who switch ROMS 5 times a day and others who never settle on one OS and like to experiment with everything.

 

[brmiller1976]

Ubuntu Mobile poses a real threat... to Open webOS. It targets the same hackerish demographic who wants to flash something better than that gawd-awful Android onto a cheap Nexus handset.

 

[paulm187]

Android is too far ahead to be threatned by anything, the Ubuntu phone OS while looking interesting hasn't got a future I'm afraid.

 

[Jimmy Mathew]

IMO this is what windows phone should be. Dock the phone and you get a windows rt/8 experience. A true pocketable PC.

 

[crystal_planet]

Ubuntu Mobile poses a real threat... to Open webOS. It targets the same hackerish demographic who wants to flash something better than that gawd-awful Android onto a cheap Nexus handset.

Good Lord Miller. Who isn't a threat to Windows Phone?

 

[Daniel Ratcliffe]

Good Lord Miller. Who isn't a threat to Windows Phone?

Barack Obama.