Hot on the heels of announcing tablet support, Ubuntu Touch has now been made available to download and is ready to be installed on a group of different Nexus devices.
This is very much being billed as a developer preview so you can expect bugs and an incomplete user experience.
That said, many of the features that you would expect to be broken in an Alpha release are working so many might be tempted to give it a try.
What to expect after flashing
For detailed information check the release notes
- Shell and core applications
- Connection to the GSM network (on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4)
- Phone calls and SMS (on Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4)
- Networking via Wifi
- Functional camera (front and back)
- Device accessible through the Android Developer Bridge tool (adb)
Supported devices and codenames
The table below lists the supported devices and their corresponding factory images, should you want to switch back to Android. The images can be found here.
Device Codename Factory firmware from Google
Galaxy Nexus maguro takju or yakju
Nexus 4 mako occam
Nexus 7 grouper nakasi or nakasig
Nexus 10 manta mantaray
There is a full guide on the Ubuntu site for installation and restoring android should you wish afterwards. Check it out here.
If any of you are feeling brave enough to try it make sure and back up your device first as it will wipe all data from your device once Ubuntu is flashed over your existing ROM.
We’re keeping a close eye on how Ubuntu Touch develops. There are fears that it’s a little late to the party and concerns about the time frame being discussed for actually seeing this on retail devices but of all the different mobile operating systems announced lately, for me, this is the one that shows most promise.
Suddenly the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 seem like more enticing purchases!
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