14 DAY TRIAL // 2014 has been a very interesting year with a ton of major releases, but one in particular really stands out, Ubuntu Touch. It's not yet available in stores and it's not "really" ready, but it's the one that registered the most progress.
It's been a busy year and that's easy to notice after Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (along with a point release for it and Ubuntu 14.10), Fedora 21, Linux Mint 17 and Linux Mint 17.1, and a Beta for the latest elementary OS. And this is just skimming the surface. The one system that really showed some progress and that is not just a natural evolution of stuff that preceded it is Ubuntu Touch.
Canonical has been working on Ubuntu Touch for more than two years and they are now really close to see their operating system powering phones that will be sold in stores. This is a Linux distro, but it's made specifically for the phone. It's not like Android, which is now a sort of a distant cousin to Linux. No, it's a proper Linux distribution running on phones and that in itself is a major achievement.
Everyone is looking for Ubuntu Touch
There have been other open source projects for mobile devices, but they never really caught on, with the exception of Android. Now, Ubuntu Touch is trying to break that success streak for Google with a new operating system that is built basically from scratch. Canonical had to make its own display manager and to build a new Unity environment that would fit properly on the phone.
The company has just released an update for the RTM branch and the work is almost complete. They still have a few problems to correct, but the project is pretty much done. We said that it was the most interesting Linux distro in 2014 because it incorporates a large number of changes and new features, much more than anything else. It's also a project capable of really putting a real Linux distro on mobile devices, so it actually carries a great responsibility.
Right now, users can download and install Ubuntu Touch only on Nexus 4, which is the only official supported device, but that is about to change really soon. If 2014 was as a great year for Canonical and Ubuntu Touch, 2015 will definitely be the one to confirm whether this will be a success or a failure.
