Ubuntu operating system turns Android phones into computers
Canonical, the company that makes Linux-based operating system Ubuntu, announced new software coming to Android phones that will turn smartphones into computers.
Ubuntu is free software that is an alternative to computer operating systems like Microsoft's Windows or Apple's OS X.
Ubuntu for phones is a mobile operating system that can be compared to Google's Android or Apple's iOS.
Ubuntu for Android is software that runs alongside Google's mobile operating system. Users will have the option to plug the device into a monitor and keyboard, which will turn the phone into a computer.
There may be new possibilities for quality, affordable computing by turning people's smartphones into computers by using Ubuntu for Android.
Many hardware companies already use Ubuntu software to produce cheap computers. The non-profit organization One Laptop per Child Association uses Ubuntu's software to create affordable laptops that are distributed to children in developing nations.
Canonical also plans to cross integrate Ubuntu software across computers, smartphones and TVs. According to CNET, Ubuntu smartphones will be "ready for retail" in the fourth quarter of 2013.
CNET will go hands-on with the devices at the International Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from Jan. 8 - 11.
