The device will be showcased at MWC '17 in Barcelona

Feb 8, 2017 14:38 GMT  ·  By

We were informed by Canonical a few moments ago that the UBports community initiative led by Marius Gripsgard successfully launched the Ubuntu mobile OS for Fairphone 2 devices.

The UBports project is well known among members of the Ubuntu Phone community, as they are porting Canonical's Ubuntu Touch mobile operating system to a bunch of devices that are a lot more popular than what Canonical currently offers.

For example, UBports allows you to install Ubuntu Touch on smartphones like OnePlus One and Nexus 5, and it will soon be supported on Nexus 10, Optimus L90, Nexus 6, Oneplus X, and many other widely-used smartphones and tablets.

"The Ubuntu Community UBports has one mission: to have the open source software Ubuntu on every device, starting with smartphones. UBports’ actions are based on collaborative development where developers are putting Ubuntu on different smartphones," reads today's press announcement.

UBports will showcase Ubuntu on the Fairphone 2 at MWC 2017

Canonical and UBports will be present at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2017 in Barcelona, Spain, between February 27 and March 2, to showcase the Ubuntu mobile OS on Fairphone 2 devices.

The Fairphone is a very special device, an ethical and module product that can be repaired by the user to prolong its life. And now, with Ubuntu Touch on top, it just becomes a strong alternative to Android.

The press announcement also informs us that Marius Gripsgård launched the UBports Foundation to keep his UBports initiative productive and be able to port the Ubuntu Touch OS on new devices.

For more details on how you can help UBports, we recommend visiting the project's website at https://ubports.com. There, you'll find information about upcoming and working devices, and how to install the Ubuntu mobile OS on them.

Those of you who want to meet the UBports team can attend MWC 2017 and visit Canonical's booth 3K31 in hall 3. You will be able to test Ubuntu on Fairphone 2 and get all the information you need to transform your device into an Ubuntu Phone.

Using the open-source Ubuntu Linux operating system on your Fairphone 2 guarantees that you'll never have any security problems, there won't be any vendor lock-in, and you'll get support from both UBports and Ubuntu communities.

To celebrate the launch of UBports Foundation, its community has put together a creative project called #YourTribe, where all Ubuntu Phone fans are invited to take photos with their devices and share them on social media using the #YourTribe hashtag. The best pictures will win a prize!