We can't wait to see the demo phone at the CES 2013 next week.  Based on press videos I've seen so far, Ubuntu on a phone looks as polished as iOS and open as Android, which could make for an attractive combination. The platform doesn't require a hardware button for the home screen or task switching. Instead, users swipe from the edge of the phone display for in app navigation, settings and the home screen. Web and native apps will be supported. 

Ubuntu for phones will have two ‘versions', with different hardware requirements. The high-end option will also come with ‘turns into a PC when docked' functionality, just like Ubuntu for Android. The low-end offering won't support this, because the hardware will be tailor made for cheap devices focused on emerging markets.

Press Release:

"At the high end of the smartphone market Ubuntu creates an entirely new ‘superphone' category: a phone that becomes a full PC when docked with a keyboard and monitor. Ubuntu is a popular desktop in security-conscious enterprises and government deployments. It includes thin client software that enables Windows apps to be delivered, securely, from the cloud or the enterprise data centre. That full desktop is included in every high-end Ubuntu phone, and the phone can be managed just like an Ubuntu desktop or server, using standard Ubuntu management tools."

Watch 60 seconds of the stunning features and interaction design that characterise Ubuntu on smartphones.

Source: unwiredview