14 DAY TRIAL // BQ and Canonical have officially announced the new Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition and the fact that the phone will be available in the coming weeks through a series of flash sales.
Information about the imminent launch of BQ Ubuntu phone has been around for some time and now it the two companies seem to have decided to make it official. This is the first device powered by Ubuntu Touch and a lot of people will be paying very close attention to what is happening in the mobile world.
Ubuntu Touch is the latest operating system from Canonical and it's a brand new experience that aims to be very different from what users can find right now on the market, and that includes systems like Jola or Firefox OS. The OS has been in the works for more than two years and it's a system designed to work on all kind of devices, across the hardware spectrum.
Who is BQ and why has Canonical chosen them?
When Mark Shuttleworth announced the two partners for the launch of Ubuntu Touch, BQ and Meizu, most of the people watching asked the same question. Who? BQ is not a very big company, but it's a young company and it has already started to penetrate the European market with some interesting devices. In many ways, they are doing the same thing companies like Meizu or Xiaomi are trying and succeeded in China: to offer devices that are interesting and different from what everyone else is doing.
Many Ubuntu fans have questioned Canonical’s decision of choosing small companies and not big ones, but they are trying to do the same thing as the just-mentioned hardware makers. They want to offer an operating system radically different from what everyone else is doing. It's easy to understand why the goals of Canonical and BQ are actually one and the same.
What is Ubuntu Touch?
The new operating system developed by Canonical embraces the fact that people are now swiping a lot more than they are tapping. Smartphones are no longer something new and everyone can understand how to swipe and get things done on a phone. Ubuntu devs have taken this to a whole new level. The operating system has no buttons, with the exception of the regular power and volume buttons. Everything is done with swiped gestures, from all sides of the screen.
Also, Ubuntu Touch brings a new concept to the market, that of scopes. There is no longer a home screen, just scopes defined by the user to expand the experience. For example, you can have a Music scope that aggregates all your music sources on a single screen. It's a different way of looking at your smartphone, but this is built for people who crave a new experience. Don't worry, regular apps still exist, but they are differently integrated.
"As any kind of content can be presented via Scopes - they provide developers an easy path for their creations to be integral to the device experience. It is simple to create new Scopes via an easy to use UI toolkit with much lower development and maintenance costs than traditional apps. Canonical and BQ have worked with a host of partners to ensure that there is a wealth of interesting, relevant and dynamic content available at launch, with more content partners to follow," said Cristian Parrino, VP Mobile at Canonical.
BQ’s Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition hardware specs
First of all, it's important to know that Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition is a dual-sim phone and it comes unlocked so that everyone can use it with their network. It boasts a MediaTek Quad-Core Cortex A7 processor running at up to 1.3 GHz, a 4.5-inch screen, 1GB RAM, rear camera with high-quality BSI sensors, Largan lens, and autofocus with dual flash(8MP), and front camera with 5MP.
It's also worth mentioning that several operators in Europe, including 3 Sweden, amena.com, giffgaff, and Portugal Telecom have decided to provide SIM bundles at purchase. The price is €169.90 ($191).
So, are you ready to buy the Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition?
