Ubuntu Phone OS Handsets Will Hit Shelves In October

The Ubuntu Phone OS was first revealed back in April of 2012, when a job listing went out looking for a Business Development Manager for the mobile operating system. The system has been in the news increasingly more often over the months, with Canonical seeking developers in the end of January for 12 core Ubuntu Phone apps. Now, according to Canonical's Mark Shuttleworth, the first round of Ubuntu Phone OS handsets will hit shelves this coming October.

Canonical officially announced Ubuntu Phone OS on January 2, originally saying that the first round of handsets would hit the market in 2014. Following the release this year, developers will be able to get their hands on the Ubuntu mobile operating system in the end of February 2014. The Ubuntu-powered phones will be launched in two "large geographical markets," neither of which were specified.

While Ubuntu Phone OS gets its ball rolling, the first version will not be able to run Ubuntu desktop applications, but eventually that will change, with the mobile OS getting support for the same apps one would install on their desktop version of the distro. According to Shuttleworth, Ubuntu Phone OS can have Windows apps shared with it over a server.

The mobile operating system will include 12 core apps that are currently in development, including four social apps: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and an RSS reader. The other eight apps will include the standard things like a calculator, email client, alarm clock, file manger, and a terminal. Other core apps will also be included that aren't part of the 12 currently being developed.

[via The Wall Street Journal]