Ubuntu phone now made official... Let the hyping begin!

Ubuntu now to be official on consumer-grade phones

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth recently held a press conference for a major announcement regarding the companies soon to join the insanely competitive smartphone market.

Up until now, the only way you could test a Ubuntu phone was to have the right hardware (typically a Nexus device), loads of time, and access to a charger (developer units had awful battery life). Late 2014 however all that is to change, as Canonical announced that two major global players in smartphone hardware business have stepped up to partner with Canonical to produce the first ever consumer-grade Ubuntu phones.

These partners are BQ and Meizu.

Most everyone with their fingers on the pulse of the mobile industry knew the Ubuntu phone would eventually come to fruition. Many were (and are) certain the device could potentially cause a major stir in the pot now dominated by iOS and Android. Think about it -- both Android and iOS have a very strange hold over the smartphone market, one that few will ever stand the chance to break. But along comes another open source company, one mostly known for a Linux desktop, and heads slowly start turning.

Why?

Canonical has done this the right way. By adopting Unity early on, Canonical has managed to get it's user interface out into the wild. This means the Ubuntu phone won't have nearly as many users wondering how to manage the new UI. Another intelligent move was their plan for one code base to rule them all. Even now, the Ubuntu phone shares 90% of the same code as the Ubuntu desktop. By release, it will be 100%. That's right -- the code for Ubuntu desktop, tablet and phone will be 100% same. How do they do this? HTML5. Canonical will use the same code strategy as Google -- Apache Cordova (a cross platform mobile development platform). According to Shuttleworth, "Anything that works on Android and iOS should work on Ubuntu."

That might be the best news yet. By adopting HTML5, Ubuntu won't face the same problem that haunted Windows 8 Phone -- a ghost town of an app store upon introduction. When Ubuntu launches, Shuttleworth says the top 50 apps from both the Apple and Google Play app stores should be available.
So, Ubuntu phone users won't find apps like Flappy Bird copies crowding the app store. Instead, they'll be treated to the likes of Twitter, Weather Channel, Dropbox, Facebook and a host of the best third-party apps.

Sounds to us like Canonical has a plan -- one that could mean almost immediate success for the Ubuntu Phone. That doesn't, of course, mean the Ubuntu Phone is going to join iOS and Android for a picnic in the park. Bringing a new platform into the mobile-sphere is going to be an almost insurmountable journey. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your point of view), Ubuntu (and Linux in general) is accustomed to scratching and clawing its way to the top of the heap. To me, that translates to the Ubuntu Phone being in this for the long haul. Even if the Ubuntu Phone doesn't come out a raging hit, Canonical will keep plugging away until it is.

Our prediction, however, is that the Ubuntu Phone will be a huge hit -- even if only for the devoted Linux fans across the planet. And they are devoted. The Linux community has been clamoring for their own mobile device for years. Linux die-hards will be tossing their current carriers and phones like Windows installer disks to finally see their wish come to fruition. Those same users will be more than happy to make word of mouth Canonical's best friend.

Passion is on the side of Canonical. A large cross-section of people desperately want this device. If you've ever questioned the rabid relationship consumers have with their phones, hang out at a carrier store for a while and chat with one of the employees. Now, imagine one of those stores filled with long-time Linux users about to have their first taste of the open-source platform on an official mobile device.

We're talking cats and dogs living together levels of madness! And now, by the end of 2014 (as I predicted at the beginning of the year), those fanboys and fangirls will get their wish.

What do you think? How can a brand new contender manage to hold its own in a market dominated by two power houses? And what challenges should Canonical and the Ubuntu Phone expect along the way?