Canonical announces plans to bring Ubuntu to smartphones, tablets and TVs

LINUX VENDOR Canonical wants a future beyond the desktop, the firm's founder Mark Shuttleworth said today in a conference call.

Shuttleworth said that a key focus for Canonical's Ubuntu Linux distribution is a future beyond the desktop on smartphones, tablets and TVs.

However, Canonical isn't announcing a delivery schedule for Ubuntu beyond PCs, and it will "to some extent be in the hands of our partners," Shuttleworth said.

He added, "We don't expect to ship any products in the near term, but prototypes will be available to developers in the short term. The products will be available in the next 18 months, depending on partners."

Shuttleworth also said the deal that will see Google buy Motorola is "going to change the way people feel about Android," adding, "We will be late to market in comparison but we have some advantages and will play those to the best of our ability."

Meanwhile, Canonical will look to share revenue with hardware manufacturers and "that is a big part of the story," said Shuttleworth.

He added, "All the major vendors have been on the phone to us asking us how quickly we can create a mobile story using Ubuntu." µ