Ubuntu hits HTC's Touch Pro2, is any Windows Mobile handset safe? (video)
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 9th 2010 9:43AM
posted March 9th 2010 9:43AM
posted March 9th 2010 9:43AM
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@One Love
But can it make internets?
@One Love That doesn't make too much sense, but seeing as it's running as a EXE, wouldn't the phone call just take over the current app?
@iJ0nathan
Nope, the exe is actually a rebooter that reboots it into the alternative OS. Once it's in Ubuntu, it's just Ubuntu until you reboot again.
@manekineko2
BRO IM NEW ON ALL THIS I SAW THE VIDEO AND LOOKS COOL, BUT IF I INSTALL THIS UBUNTU INTO THE TP2 FROM TMOBILE AFTER THE REBOOT THE PHONE GOES BACK TO WINDOWS, AND CAN I INSTAL THE UBUNTU INTO THE MICRO SD OR HAS TO GO IN THE MAIN MEMORY THANKS
Woah, I'll have to try this. I love my TP2, but a full-featured desktop OS would be insanity.
@Alex
Now if you add a small USB-Keyboard...
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/04/mios-tegra-powered-moov-v780-puts-maps-720p-video-and-the-int/
@PlatinumSkeet The TP2 KB is Gorgeous! Why Would you need an External one?
@Alex
Oh... Come... On... .... REALLY?
After ALL of the BITCHING that people do about how you HAVE to use a stylus on a WM phone, you're excited about THIS?! Look at those tiny-a$$ UI controls!
Where are the "it's-not-touch-friendly" zealots when you need them?
@crapple
I bet ubuntu netbook remix would take care of your problem
@dvalentine
Doubtful. As has been bloviated about on this site, a phone's UI is more than its homescreen. The whole OS would need an overhaul to get rid of a stylus/make certain controls usable on a small device.
Read: Apps must be designed with touch/phone in mind or they will suck.
@crapple
I'm excited. I wanted a Linux on the TP2, and I use Ubuntu on 2 machines. You can increase the size of all the UI components, he just hasn't done so. I hope he included that functionality in the EXE because I will try it.
@Alex Hopefully the mytouch 2 of tmo will have this kind of ubuntu capability as well. That screehshot owns. http://bit.ly/mytouch-slide-qwerty-first-reactions
@dvalentine
Yes, it is silly to use the full Gnome desktop on a mobile phone. Netbook Remix would work much-much better with this screen size.
It is still pretty amazing, especially how snappy the application starts are.
@Alex
Well I gave this a try last night. Threw the package on my 16GB MicroSD card. It actually ran pretty well considering it's meant for a real computer. Obviously not much of the hardware works now (pretty much just the screen and keyboard at this point, actually). And it did eventually freeze up after a while, when I was trying to access one of the toolbar menus in the word processor. I think I was just trying to do too much at once. But still, it's a good start. If they can get this running smoothly and with full hardware support, I may make this a regular part of my phone.
i think i would go into a coma if xda died.
@skyblaze
That could happen on XDA, Windows Mobile slowly being fazed out for android and soon probably Windows Phone 7 Series on the site currently
@skyblaze
As long as Android will be around and old handsets with WinMo6, XDA will be around.
I also see XDA commandeering WinMo7 at some point.
@skyblaze
that's one relentless calendar app in ubuntu
love to have this mobile, my dream gadget!
astera li
http://www.mitph.com
Awesome. Imagine Ubuntu on an HD2.
@microlomaniac If it's possible on a Touch Pro 2, I'm betting it's possible on a HD2 (Just have to figure out how to use the on-screen keyboard)
@microlomaniac
Really awesome, imagine Windows 7 on an HD2
@microlomaniac
Word, that would be sick!
@microlomaniac
It would be a lot harder to use than this is. Even with the larger screen, controlling a desktop OS with capacitive touch would be a bitch, especially when it came to using an on screen keyboard. I suppose with one of those weird styli it might be bearable
@rederikus
Windows 7 would have to be ported to ARM first.
@microlomaniac Honestly it'd be a lot harder to use and get up and running without issues since there's no physical keyboard on the HD2. Making a phone friendly virtual keyboard available would be the first step so you could actually log in and run stuff from the command prompt.
BTW...on the TP2 you can now triple boot Windows Mobile, Android, and Ubuntu. So frankly, all the Windows Mobile handset haters can eat it, because WinMo phones still have the most dorky power-users ready to make the phones do wonderful things they were never "meant" to do.
@microlomaniac
Imagine Android on the HD2
@tekdemon
Triple boot! ok I'm sure this is common knowledge somewhere - but serious question--why can't the iPhone OS be ported if they can manage all these other OS's? Hackinphone?
Awesomesauce, now they just need to make it finger friendly :)
I even approve of undesired multitasking.
you will also be needing a very good magnifying glass to read the text, look at how small the text is!
@OCEAN CLAK
maybe i just have really good eyes, but i can read the text just fine... and this is looking at a screen within a screen within a screen
@skyblaze
Yo dawg, I heard you like screens...
@iHeartBeer
lol, good call
@OCEAN CLAK the desktop version of Ubuntu has Orca, which does screen magnification and reading through speech. I wish the TP2 build had ported Orca, as I'd definitely need it, but I'm not holding my breath.
Epic.
well at least people have an option even if it's not mobile 7 series
Is there anything xda can't do? They actually made my HTC Fuze (aka Touch Pro 1) a better phone than most current models on the market.
This actually looks quite annoying, though. It looks laggy and slow and everything's super small. I'm not sure people would really use this once the novelty factor wore off.
@badasscat I initially thought that but think about it; a full os that can be launched from an executable. This could be tailored to your exact needs and with a little polish it could really become a useful tool.
@badasscat
It becomes a little more useful if you can use the tv out feature of the TP2
@badasscat
What's the big deal about the font size. It doesn't have to be _exactly_ like it was in the video. If this works, you just install Ubuntu Netbook Remix for a small(er) screen optimized Ubuntu experience. If that's still too small, you just jack up the font sizes. Once you get something that works, just roll it all into the exe and distribute so no one else has to customize it themselves again.
And by "you", I mean the incredibly badass cats on XDA.
But can it make calls?
@One Love For a second I forgot this is a phone...
@One Love According to the video, no it cannot.
@One Love
Is there any Skype on Ubuntu? Can you pair Ubuntu (within the phone) to a router?
No, seriously, can you? Someone try that!
"seemingly every WinMo handset"
I'm afraid that E-ten stayed out of the Android-party. But time will tell.
That is just insane! Although maybe it would have been better if they ported Ubuntu Netbook Remix. It would have been interesting to see how it works on a phone. Still gotta give XDA credit.
i'll wait for a thumb-friendly version...
Only about time before Canonical releases "Ubuntu MBR" (Ubuntu Mobile Remix)
You'd have thought they would have got someone who knew or used Ubuntu to make the video! Would have possibly been a little more convincing.