14 DAY TRIAL // Believe it or not, Ubuntu Phones can be jailbroken too, sort of. In a recent blog post, Ubuntu Touch OS developer Michael Zanetti explains how he managed to create a third-part App Store for the Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system that will allow some open doors for power users and developers who want to explore the platform beyond what’s offered to the normal user.
As you know, Ubuntu Touch is the mobile operating system of the Ubuntu Linux distribution, used on several mobiles devices, including the BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition, Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition, and Nexus 4 smartphones. The third-party App Store created by Michael Zanetti is called Open App Store, and it’s very similar to the Cydia app for jailbroken iPhones.
“Now that the Ubuntu Phone is finally in the hands of many people, it’s time to get some hacking started!” says Michael Zanetti. “This is an attempt to bootstrap some hacking community around the devices that wants to explore the phone beyond of what the platform offers to the normal user at this time.”
Ubuntu Touch developers can publish their apps in Open App Store
At the moment, there aren’t any details about how to install the Open App Store application on an Ubuntu Phone device, simply because it’s not intended to be used by the normal user who can break the Ubuntu installation. A .click package for Open App Store is provided on Michael Zanetti’s post for Ubuntu hackers and developers who want to test it.
Only two applications are available in the third-party App Store for Ubuntu Touch, but developers are instructed on how to prepare their apps for inclusion on the Open App Store, as well as about the rules. Yes, there are rules, as you can only publish open source apps, and apps that cannot be published in the official Ubuntu Store.
Michael Zanetti is an Ubuntu Touch OS developer, known for the Ubuntu Authenticator, GetMeWheels, Shine, uFit, and Xbmcremote applications, which are currently available in the Ubuntu Store for Ubuntu for phones. Ubuntu developer Michael Hall has tested the new Open App Store application and posted some nice screenshots on Google+.
