British computer software company, Canonical has released the first smartphone running on the Ubuntu operating system, Aquaris E4.5.
The smartphone has a 4.5 inch display screen, 8 megapixel rear-facing camera , 5 mega-pixel front facing camera. The device runs on a MediaTek quad-core Cortex A7 processor, 1.3GHz frequency and also a 1GB RAM. The internal memory of the phone is 8GB which is expandable to 32GB.
The interface of the Aquaris E4.5 is structured uniquely with content-group tabs called Scope as against the regular app grid.
The mobile device will run apps written in either HTML5 or in its native QML programming language.
The Ubuntu Linux software is not new and it has been available as a open source operating system. However, this development makes the OS commercially available on a smartphone.
According to Jane Silber, CEO of Canonical, “The launch of the first Ubuntu smartphones is a significant milestone. The new experience we deliver for users, as well as the opportunities for differentiation for manufacturers and operators, are a compelling and much-needed change from what is available today.”
The high end smartphone, Aquaris E4.5, will be available across Europe for €170.
Founded in 2013 by South African entrepreneur, Mark Shuttleworth , Canonical is a computer software company.
