The world’s first Ubuntu smartphone is to be released on the market – nearly 18 months after its intended launch. The Aquaris E4.5 was originally scheduled to be available in 2012, but an attempt to raise funds via a crowdfunding campaign failed. The smartphone has a card-like user interface, but unlike other models, the E4.5 isn’t focused on apps.
Canonical, the British company that developed Ubuntu, hoped to raise funds for the project via crowdfunding. Although £13 million was raised, this fell short of the target, causing a delay in the product launch. Canonical will now introduce flash sales in European countries next week, where the smartphone will be sold for a short period of time. This will help developers ascertain the handset’s popularity before they decide on a larger production run.
Ubuntu is a Linux-based operating system that has gone from strength to strength since its inception. The desktop version of Ubuntu is already running of millions of computers used by businesses, governments, and schools. Now the company are hoping to tap into the lucrative smartphone market.
The E4.5 has the ability to run applications that are written in its own QML code or HTML5. However, users of the handset will notice major differences to the smartphone brands that have already established a name for themselves. Primarily, the interface of the phone isn’t based around grids of apps and instead focuses on themed cards that combine different facilities in one place. Canonical calls these ‘scopes’, and users will be able to configure these based on the services that they want to receive.
The home screen of the phone includes a variety of different widgets, which are customised based on the interactions of the user. Expect to find local weather forecasts, news headlines, Twitter, and contact lists on the home screen.
Using the phone is straightforward. Users can swipe the screen to the right to make a call or access their scopes. This menu includes a music scope, featuring tracks from a number of streaming providers such as Soundcloud. Other features include video scopes, where users can view the latest video clips from YouTube and other streaming services, and photo scopes, essentially a collection of images that are stored on the handset, as well as pictures from Facebook and Flickr.
The apps scope provides all the functions you would expect from a contemporary smartphone, including a camera, calender, and third-party programs. Then there’s a scope that provides you with up-to-date information from your part of the world, including traffic bulletins, and recommendations for the best restaurants in your local area. You can even create your own scopes, based on the information that you want to receive.
The E4.5 is being manufactured by the Spanish company BQ, and comes with one gigabyte of RAM memory. The handset is expected to cost around £127 when released to the general public.
