Ubuntu Touch Lands First Smartphone Design Win For Delivery In 2014

We haven’t heard much from Canonical about its Ubuntu for mobile since its ill-fated $32 million crowdfunding attempt, but it appears that the company has finally found a hardware partner for its mobile operating system.

Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth dropped the news to CNET: "We have concluded our first set of agreements to ship Ubuntu on mobile phones. We've shifted gears from 'making a concept' to 'it's going to ship.' That has a big impact on the team," he said.

Canonical Ubuntu Touch OS

Shuttleworth declined to name the manufacturer, but he did say that Canonical is actively in talks with four major brands that sell phones all over the world. If that’s indeed the case, the mobile market will get a hearty nudge from yet another entrant, which is good for consumers.

This is all in addition to the support the project has received from carriers worldwide, including Vodafone, SK Telecom, Deutsche Telecom, T-Mobile, Verizon, and more.

We had a chance to see a version of the Ubuntu Touch OS in action at last year’s CES, and it was looking mighty fine even back then.