World’s First Ubuntu Linux Tablet, Aquaris M10, Available For Preorder From $290

by Brandon Hill — Tuesday, March 29, 2016, 09:39 AM EDT

Have you ever wished that you could have the full Ubuntu Linux experience in a more portable, personal form-factor? No, we’re not talking about Ubuntu on a laptop, but on a tablet. If that’s been a dream of yours, you’ll soon be able to sample Ubuntu goodness in a 10.1-inch form-factor at the retail level.

Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu, have teamed up with Spanish device maker BQ to bring us the Aquarius M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet, which runs Ubuntu OS version 15.04 (Vivid Velvet). What’s great about Vivid Velvet is that users are presented with a touch-centric interface when using the tablet by itself, and it converts to a desktop mode when you attach a mouse and keyboard (that sounds a bit to us like Continuum on Windows 10 devices).

On the hardware front, don’t expect to find anything special here with the two tablet models that are currently available for preorder (HD and FHD). The HD tablet features a 1.2GHz quad-core MediaTek MT8163A processor and a 1280x800 resolution display. The FHD ups the ante with a 1920x1200 display and a slightly faster 1.5GHz version of the same MediaTek processor.

Shared features among the tablets include 2GB of RAM, 16GB of internal storage (11.2GB of which is usable), a microSD slot (supports up to 200GB), Bluetooth 4.0, 802.11n Wi-Fi, GPS, 8MP rear camera, 5MP front-facing camera and a 7280 mAh battery.

Both variants of the Aquarius M10 Ubuntu Edition tablet are now available for preorder, with the the HD model priced at €259 ($290), while the FHD model goes for €299 ($335). If you preorder now, your tablet will [hopefully] ship during the second week of April.

Tags: tablet, Canonical, ubtunu, aquaris m10

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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