Ubuntu marks its first truly mobile platform today with the release of version 13.10.
Maker Canonical claims the latest iteration of the Linux-based operating system paves the way for desktop and smartphone convergence by providing a streamlined core OS and mobile user interface.
Rick Spencer, who leads Ubuntu’s consumer-facing engineering, said: "The exact same Ubuntu OS runs on ARM phones and modern HP Moonshot ARM servers, and provides exactly the same capability as x86 platforms.
"Ubuntu 13.10 is a full server-grade OS that offers a mobile experience and is lean enough to support mobile devices, kicking off a new era in mobile security and computing convergence."
Canonical is working with developers to bring an Ubuntu smartphone to market next year, and the 13.10 release includes a wide range of basic mobile apps including a browser, calendar, weather, clock and calculator.
The latest OS also encompasses a set of tools to develop new Ubuntu apps, supporting both native and HTML5 development, enabling developers to target phones, tablets and PCs with one single codebase.
Founder Mark Shuttleworth said: "Thanks to our passionate community of early adopters and designers we’ve built a unique experience for end-users and for developers: one UI framework that scales across all the personal computing form factors."
The 13.10 version is available for download now from ubuntu.com/download.
