Ubuntu tablets due early 2011
Ubuntu-based tablets could hit the market as early as the first quarter of 2011, says a Canonical exec. Ubuntu developer Canonical is currently working on a tablet-specific Ubuntu OS for future devices. The tablet operating system will feature a touch-friendly UI and will be built from a lightweight version of Linux, possible Ubuntu’s upcoming 10.10 version, which the company calls “Maverick Meerkat.”
The company is reportedly working with hardware and component makers, including Freescale, Marvell and Texas Instruments to develop the device, which they hope will be ready for the Q1 2011. Intel and Pixel Qi also involved to help manage the tablet’s power needs.
“The devices world is a really exciting space right now and we’re really bullish on it,” Canonical VP of alliances and OEM services told Network World.
Kenyon’s comments jibe with what he told The Reg last month: that Canonical was prepping Unbuntu for in-car systems, tablets, set-top-boxes, and what Kenyon called “the digital home or something you carry around”. Kenyon also said that the Ubuntu OS for tablets would be a slimmed-down Linux with a touch-screen interface, and the development is underway for on-screen keyboards and compatibility with multitouch drivers. In the tablet space, the Ubuntu OS will compete with Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and the Intel-Nokia-Novell mash-up, Meego.
Canonical currently offers Ubuntu 10.04 for PCs, servers and netbooks. It plans to combine the tablet OS and netbook OS into one system called “Ubuntu Light.”
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