14 DAY TRIAL // Canonical has now shifted its focus on Ubuntu Touch RTM (release to manufacturing), the version of the operating system that will land on a couple of phones this fall.
The Ubuntu developers are working on correcting all the bugs and issues that can now be found in the Ubuntu Touch version of the operating system, the OS that is going to power the Meize and Bq handsets that are scheduled to arrive in a few months’ time.
In case you didn't know this already, Canonical is looking to launch its operating system for smartphones. It's not an easy thing to do and you just can't port the regular desktop version to work on the phones.
In fact, Canonical is developing some technologies and software that will eventually land on the desktop version of Ubuntu, which is an interesting development in itself. Now, the devs are working to ensure that the first experience for users with Ubuntu on phones will be a smooth one.
“There has been a lot of announcements happening recently - from those one thing is important to mention: our current focus is ubuntu-rtm. So, if you want your fixes and features to end up the end-product you _have_ to land your changes to ubuntu-rtm! We know it might seem a bit troublesome right now, but we, the Landing Team, are trying to help out with this as much as possible. Expect it to be much better in the nearest days,” said Ubuntu developer Łukasz Zemczak in an email.
Ubuntu for phones has been in the works for more than a year and a half, and numerous changes and improvements have landed in the system, especially in the last few months. Unity and all the other components are coming together just nicely, but there is still time to see new features introduced.
Canonical chose two unlikely partners for its first endeavor in the smarthphone world, and they are called Meizu and Bq. Meizu is one of the biggest handset makers in China and it's actually on the rise. They are doing quite well and a new Ubuntu phone might help them shake the market, even a little bit.
Bq, on the other hand, is a lot smaller. It's a company based in Spain and it focuses on building phones that are both interesting and somewhat different from what everyone else is doing. This might be one of the reasons Canonical chose them in the first place.
There is no official date for the launch of Ubuntu on phone, but they said it would be here in the fall of 2014. The summer is almost over and the Ubuntu developers are trying really hard to make the RTM version a reality, as soon as possible.