Porting Android to Samsung Chromebook ARM - Chromebooks

I usually do not start threads and hang in the shadows here on xda, but I love the site and all the awesome development.
With that said:
Please do not close this thread - This is not a question, or a discussion about a computer. The new Samsung Chromebook with the ARM chip is basically an Android tablet built like a laptop running chrome. It has a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, so this falls under Android development and HACKING for devices that do not have a forum on XDA.
So I have this device and I have to say, it's very well built for the price. The only negative is that it runs Chrome. Now - I'm not here to bash on Chrome OS and I don't need a discussion on the pros and cons of it...
The point of starting this thread is to get Android ported over to this thing. I actually went out and purchased it at Best Buy because I knew that I could go to xda-developers a week later and someone will post instructions on how to install Android. Didn't happen. Not sure why.
So please chime in on ideas on how to get the ball rolling. Who do we have to buy a Chromebook for to make this happen? Do we start a bounty?
Let's keep the xda-developer community going strong! Thank you.

Like you, I did the same.
dalethefarmer said:
I usually do not start threads and hang in the shadows here on xda, but I love the site and all the awesome development.
With that said:
Please do not close this thread - This is not a question, or a discussion about a computer. The new Samsung Chromebook with the ARM chip is basically an Android tablet built like a laptop running chrome. It has a Samsung Exynos 5 Dual processor, so this falls under Android development and HACKING for devices that do not have a forum on XDA.
So I have this device and I have to say, it's very well built for the price. The only negative is that it runs Chrome. Now - I'm not here to bash on Chrome OS and I don't need a discussion on the pros and cons of it...
The point of starting this thread is to get Android ported over to this thing. I actually went out and purchased it at Best Buy because I knew that I could go to xda-developers a week later and someone will post instructions on how to install Android. Didn't happen. Not sure why.
So please chime in on ideas on how to get the ball rolling. Who do we have to buy a Chromebook for to make this happen? Do we start a bounty?
Let's keep the xda-developer community going strong! Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As this is arm based I thought for sure there would be an android build for it, a cheaper asus transformer.. its a perfect platform really for Android - I am surprised there isn't more discussion on getting JB ported to this chromebook. Is there any interest?

It has the same Exynos 5 SoC as the Nexus 10, so it seems like it should be possible to get something working for it if it can be hacked to boot another OS. Seems like a kernel based off the Nexus 10 source would be possible.
Google doesn't want Android to be a desktop style OS which is part of the reason they ended the Motorola lapdock after they took over Motorola. But if this thing had Android on it for $249 its a pretty good deal considering it has an Exynos 5.

Samsung Chromebook A15 Exynos
There has been much progress porting Ubuntu Raring Ringtail and Quantal Quetzal to this thing. I look forward to being able to choose between running stable Android and stable Ubuntu (or other distros, even).
With that said, I think that although this device is selling out I'm not sure that enough of these users will be aware of how close this device is to being a true, first Android laptop. From benchmarks I've seen on Phoronix.com the Exynos Dual in this Samsung Series 3 XE303 Chromebook is at least twice as fast as the Tegra 3 Quad in processing and graphics tasks.
Many people don't seem to see the value of Android as a fuller OS that would flourish within a laptop hardware suite. I argue that it is because they do not see the possibilities that software such as ParanoidAndroid would allow for with it's per-app DPI settings and ability to force a Phone, Phablet, or Tablet UI for every single app you run. These features are core to getting the most productivity out of a Samsung XE303 running Android.
I do enjoy the ChromeOS/ChromiumOS interface much because it is simple enough to have a low learning curve, yet it has enough options available to it to be somewhat powerful in the productivity department. It is indeed lacking in its offline capabilities, though. And Android would fix those and then some.
I guess I should also mention that the latest 4.2.1 Android ninja tweaked the native support for gamepads including Sixaxis controllers and Xbow controllers. Now you can game with them for apps that support the controllers. Neat.

Android can be kind of awkward with mouse/keyboard input only. But its the app compatibility of Android which is the biggest selling point. Since it contains a very capable ARM SoC this thing should run all of the latest games on Android no problem.

I'm fairly sure that there are a large number of ASUS Transformer + Dock users that would say they are quite happy with the touchpad/keyboard input on Android 4+.
As for the touchpad and and keyboard on the XE303, it is STELLAR under ChromeOS. Getting it to match under Android is simply a matter of hardware tweaking.
All the Android apps and games I've purchased deserve to be utilized on this device.

+1 for this idea - just got my chromebook today!

disynthetic said:
There has been much progress porting Ubuntu Raring Ringtail and Quantal Quetzal to this thing. I look forward to being able to choose between running stable Android and stable Ubuntu (or other distros, even).
With that said, I think that although this device is selling out I'm not sure that enough of these users will be aware of how close this device is to being a true, first Android laptop. From benchmarks I've seen on Phoronix.com the Exynos Dual in this Samsung Series 3 XE303 Chromebook is at least twice as fast as the Tegra 3 Quad in processing and graphics tasks.
Many people don't seem to see the value of Android as a fuller OS that would flourish within a laptop hardware suite. I argue that it is because they do not see the possibilities that software such as ParanoidAndroid would allow for with it's per-app DPI settings and ability to force a Phone, Phablet, or Tablet UI for every single app you run. These features are core to getting the most productivity out of a Samsung XE303 running Android.
I do enjoy the ChromeOS/ChromiumOS interface much because it is simple enough to have a low learning curve, yet it has enough options available to it to be somewhat powerful in the productivity department. It is indeed lacking in its offline capabilities, though. And Android would fix those and then some.
I guess I should also mention that the latest 4.2.1 Android ninja tweaked the native support for gamepads including Sixaxis controllers and Xbow controllers. Now you can game with them for apps that support the controllers. Neat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who exactly is making progress and how do I sign up. How do we get a dedicated forum fired up for this? Let's get this party started, my chrome book should be in in Monday!
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------
OK I answered my own question. The Ubuntu port instructions can be found here... http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
I'd still love to see a JB port.

dbdrop said:
Who exactly is making progress and how do I sign up. How do we get a dedicated forum fired up for this? Let's get this party started, my chrome book should be in in Monday!
---------- Post added at 09:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:07 AM ----------
OK I answered my own question. The Ubuntu port instructions can be found here... http://chromeos-cr48.blogspot.com/2012/04/chrubuntu-1204-now-with-double-bits.html
I'd still love to see a JB port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too... I was reading about the Chromebook and thought... ARM CPU needs Android. The games on ChromeOS look pretty damn awful and Android would also bring many emulators to life.. Amiga, Atari, DosBox, Nintendo... And you could do what ChromeOS does in Android but with all the Android extras.
If there was Android for the XE303 Chromebook I'd buy one tomorrow.. maybe two!

Texting
I do a lot of texting, hundreds and hundreds of messages a day.
The only tolerable way used to be Google Voice, but they recently lowered their daily sms limit (that limit is only imposed if you txt through a computer). So my new solution is this: tether my phone to a tablet that has TabletTalk and a keyboard and go at it from there. The Chromebook seemed like a good alternative to that route.
Please don't ignore the community that needs this.

I think JB on the chromebook would be beast. From the score ubuntu is beast! lol. I cant wait till its outta beta. I have had my CB for almost a week, Already bored with the OS. Cant do anything hardly. Time to flash already. Please keep the thread going as we keep it updated more will see and hopefully a dev will step up and tame this beast from the inside out. Thank you for starting this thread. :good::good:

Started working on this already seems the BOOT partition needs to be rewritten to work with UEFI...Anybody wanna help..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1951114&page=2

I wouldnt bet on a 12" ARM chromebook, rumors say some people at google are getting tired of the chromebook not getting enough traction and are thinking about axing the project, perhaps even the OS itself.
Personally I wouldn't care since they might finally realize the potential of android on laptops and launch a "Nexus 12"
Anyway, any news with the port?

MGREX said:
I wouldnt bet on a 12" ARM chromebook, rumors say some people at google are getting tired of the chromebook not getting enough traction and are thinking about axing the project, perhaps even the OS itself.
Personally I wouldn't care since they might finally realize the potential of android on laptops and launch a "Nexus 12"
Anyway, any news with the port?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think they would put Android on a laptop seeing as it's not optimized for that type of hardware, but don't get me wrong it would be sweet, however the OS might be able to take advantage of of certain Input controls such as Keyboard, Mouse, Flash Drives etc... most 3rd party apps wont support it or be optimized for it. However a Hybrid ChromeOS/Android may work very well where you have a Standard Chrome OS base with the Ability to run certain android Apps that have been written to take advantage of such input devices. As far as the OS itself it's actually Open source so in theory it should be possible to allow the running of android apps without Google them selves implementing it. it just might be a little challenging.

Figured I'd bump and share.
Got my CB a week or so ago and so far it's been a pretty good device for when I instantly need a new tab open in a desktop format so I can use a full site and keyboard. Today I loaded up the alpha Ubuntu 12.04 build and so far I'm thrilled that I got this full fledged desktop OS on a 250 dollar solid state machine. I might get another 1 or 2 lol
Android could make it even better, especially PA since it has the different layout settings.
Linux + Chrome + Android - $250 = dope laptop

theduce102 said:
Figured I'd bump and share.
Got my CB a week or so ago and so far it's been a pretty good device for when I instantly need a new tab open in a desktop format so I can use a full site and keyboard. Today I loaded up the alpha Ubuntu 12.04 build and so far I'm thrilled that I got this full fledged desktop OS on a 250 dollar solid state machine. I might get another 1 or 2 lol
Android could make it even better, especially PA since it has the different layout settings.
Linux + Chrome + Android - $250 = dope laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm waiting for Ubuntu to come off of beta and then I'm there!!!! Lol. Its badass for 250.00
Sent from my SGH-I777 using xda premium

Anyone fancy attempting to get RISC OS running on this, as an alternative desktop OS?

trevj said:
Anyone fancy attempting to get RISC OS running on this, as an alternative desktop OS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would be nice....However got my hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB..does look very interesting I might add.

rawtek said:
Would be nice....However got my hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB..does look very interesting I might add.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Less posting, more developing!!! Seriously though, waiting and watching patiently... Good luck!

rawtek said:
hands full trying to get the N10 system image booting the CB
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I expect you'll get there sooner or later - keep at it!
..does look very interesting I might add.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should fly on this thing, even only using a single core.

Related

WebOS on G tab

Hope I'm not being sacrilegeous, but is it possible? I've always admired the platform, but the lack of apps always held me back from trying it.
Any possibility we could get WebOS running on the G tab?
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
Because if number of available apps is the problem, WebOS is clearly the answer.
Thanks for the laugh.
spamhead said:
Because if number of available apps is the problem, WebOS is clearly the answer.
Thanks for the laugh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the lack of apps is whats kept him from trying Web OS (ie: buying a web os device) however hes interested in trying out the platform if he could get it running on his gtab.
but you clearly didn't pick that up and made an ass of yourself.
You're right (on both counts).
Not the first or last time I make an ass of myself on the internet.
I doubt it, but it would be awesome. WebOS is a stunningly beautiful OS. I love the way it looks, feels, and works. To me, it's up there with android in the multitasking department and surpasses it in design (though honeycomb is getting close). I had a pre for about 6 months and sometimes miss some of the things it did. That being said, as of june 2010, it was buggy as all get out and the app store was severly lacking.
I second the request for someone to look into this though, as it would be a lot of fun to play with.
spamhead said:
You're right (on both counts).
Not the first or last time I make an ass of myself on the internet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, at least you owned up to it
I bought a Palm Pre the day it was released, I thought WebOS was pretty damn awesome, but they released it on hardware of the worst quality (my Pre oreo'd like a mofo, and the touchscreen stopped working 9 months in). That and the fact that they didn't license it out like Android pretty much doomed it from the start.
Nice to see HP giving it a go, and #2 tablet world is wide open at the moment, but I wouldn't choose it over Android. Would be fun to play with though.
CPU is probably the big obstacle - anyone know what WebOS is compiled for? I actually know very little about the device.
If, for example, the hardware was ARM based then it's in the realm of possibility.
EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webos. hmmm, ARM-based and Linux based. Interesting.....
roebeet said:
CPU is probably the big obstacle - anyone know what WebOS is compiled for? I actually know very little about the device.
If, for example, the hardware was ARM based then it's in the realm of possibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
original pre was an omap processor, not sure if that is arm or not. I think texas instruments was the manufacturer
Btw I thought of this after reading about all the work done on the HTC HD2 and and HD7 running both Windows x.x and Android concurrently. Android Central recently had an article about WebOS 3.0 where they said it is starting to look mighty impressive.
I've always enjoyed Android and how customizable it is, but have enjoyed the UI from WebOS (one of my cousin owned a Pre).
Btw I enjoy using all platforms, I've been on Windows, OS X, and Ubunut for desktops and laptops, and for Smartphones I've used WM 6 (and prior), Blackberry, iOS, and Android. I tend to go with the one that suits my needs/wants best. Now that tablets are starting to be on the rise, I haven't set in stone which one I prefer yet. I picked up a Gtab from Woot knowing that there is a strong community of modders in addition to some solid internal hardware and specs.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
I know nothing about the programming side, but if we could get the ball rolling on this, I'm ready and willing to use my time and hardware for testing.
Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using Tapatalk
Web os is now open source.
Anyone interested
Ubunut!
jraskal said:
..., and Ubunut ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL! Is this the name for an Ubuntu fanatic?

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not completely, its still ARM architecture, so there are limitations, but windows 8 is a given, metro would run like a champion on the TP.
also, more expectedly, we will see more ports of other tablet OS/UI's. personally id love a pucinni port of sense. but others may prefer touchwiz or a better miui release
and as many users, i ofter call the TP my HD2 of tablets, the leatherman of technology!
I should've added the "some other OS" option. I've come to like Android a little bit, only I often get lost in it's long wave of menus.
Personally, I would like to see that Galaxy Note software on the TouchPad, but that's considered Google Android isn't it?
I like the idea of being able to change to whatever OS I want at any time.
DreamOWD said:
I should've added the "some other OS" option.
Personally, I would like to see that Galaxy Note software on the TouchPad, but that's considered Google Android isn't it?
I like the idea of being able to change to whatever OS I want at any time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the note is just a variation on the touchwiz UI, but it would pretty damn sweet on the tp
im actually trying to get a galaxy note as well, but if it doesnt come with AWS, im pooched, so the UI would be neat to mess about with on the TP
Windows 8 would be sweet.
Joli OS is going to be released as open-source soon, so that would be kinda cool.
Triple Boot,
WebOS, ICS and Win8.
dajogejr said:
Triple Boot,
WebOS, ICS and Win8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+ 1
I use Android 70% webOS 30%.
Android provides pretty hard core games, lots of customizability.
WebOS is nice for that effortless elegant experience. And the fact that you can do 50 things at 1 time.
you should've put up a multiple choice poll!!!!
Arch
to short.......................
AHAHAHHAHA ios, that funny
ios was not designed for tablets. But I would be VERY interested in Microsoft Surface for tablets.
Meego's pretty attractive, but I don't know anything about it.
All these tablets have multitouch. Yet I have not yet seen it implemented into the UI, such as moving around windows with two fingers.
Hell I would n00buntu with gnome3
Sent from my HP Touchpad using xda premium
doug piston said:
Arch
to short.......................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already have a chroot working I believe.
DreamOWD said:
ios was not designed for tablets. But I would be VERY interested in Microsoft Surface for tablets.
Meego's pretty attractive, but I don't know anything about it.
All these tablets have multitouch. Yet I have not yet seen it implemented into the UI, such as moving around windows with two fingers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iOS seems to be working fine on tablets.....so says the millions of them sold.
Nburnes said:
Already have a chroot working I believe.
iOS seems to be working fine on tablets.....so says the millions of them sold.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course! With many schools, businesses, news stations, and military buying them up like crazy. Many U.S. schools adding iPads, trimming textbooks.
Which makes sense, it's is pretty simple. You go into one app, come out.
I want more of a hard core tablet.
Nburnes said:
Already have a chroot working I believe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This relevant to my interests. Good work.
doug piston said:
This relevant to my interests. Good work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh, not me man. I wish I was that smart.
http://archlinuxarm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1567
https://github.com/crimsonredmk/ArchLinuxARM-Chroot-TouchPad
Seems alot of people are putting their eggs in Windows 8..
If you want a wholesome experience, an OS with large market share and few limitations would probably be the best. Which is why I think Android is the best OS for the end user on mobile platforms.
In theory however, Linux is far from the best OS, frankly all *nix are an archaic design, but but for embedded devices it kind of works I guess.
DreamOWD said:
I should've added the "some other OS" option. I've come to like Android a little bit, only I often get lost in it's long wave of menus.
Personally, I would like to see that Galaxy Note software on the TouchPad, but that's considered Google Android isn't it?
I like the idea of being able to change to whatever OS I want at any time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's just a skinned version of Android. A poor one at that. With a few key apps you can go above and beyond what Samsung is offering
Sent from my HP Touchpad using Tapatalk

Ubuntu for android being revealed. No more chroot?

http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android
Pretty stoked for this.
Must. Get. Hands. On. This. !.
Thank you for the link, intesting to know. And it also makes my feet tingle with excitement.
right there with u sir
Here is a video of Ubuntu for Android in Action. Officially supported. No hacks or dual boot needed.
---------- Post added at 07:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------
Updated post with video
Very excited to try this.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/21/ubuntus-full-desktop-os-coming-to-multi-core-android-devices/
engadget article
That would be so amazing !
Only problem I see is that Ubuntu for Android only seems to be available for vendors (Asus, Motorola, HTC, Samsung, ...) and mobile carriers (AT&T, Bell, ...)
Hope that the Cyanogenmod team can get their hands on this. CM9 + Ubuntu for Android would be so AWESOME !!!
Could this mean that we can get linux usb support instead of having to hack together drivers to support hardware?
foboi1122 said:
Could this mean that we can get linux usb support instead of having to hack together drivers to support hardware?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think so since USB is one of the requirements to run it.
wonder if anyone get a first hand on this. I would not mind to be beta tester.
The Prime is more than capable to handle it.
huytrang90 said:
wonder if anyone get a first hand on this. I would not mind to be beta tester.
The Prime is more than capable to handle it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep! Also like the Ubuntu people said, the more cores, the better. Now this will be something to take advantage of powerful multi-threading capabilities of prime. Quad core tegra3 would push this easily n very fast n smooth also.
This will only work if they can keep the heat down on the processor. That's gonna be the biggest road block that I can see. 4G + charging = hot, so 4G + charging + hdmi mirroring + mucho computing = sizzler. Not sure how hot LTE gets a phone.
This is still a very cool development.
I may be looking at this wrong though, b/c the provided info is mainly about using a phone as a desktop, but the prime could be the desktop. In which, yes, it would definitely have the power to run ubuntu but what is the point? There are already guides to running ubuntu on the prime. Is ubuntu w unity more polished than what is already available?
NastroGlide said:
This will only work if they can keep the heat down on the processor. That's gonna be the biggest road block that I can see. 4G + charging = hot, so 4G + charging + hdmi mirroring + mucho computing = sizzler. Not sure how hot LTE gets a phone.
This is still a very cool development.
I may be looking at this wrong though, b/c the provided info is mainly about using a phone as a desktop, but the prime could be the desktop. In which, yes, it would definitely have the power to run ubuntu but what is the point? There are already guides to running ubuntu on the prime. Is ubuntu w unity more polished than what is already available?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, plus you won't have to jump through hoops to get it to work. It'll be officially supported by Android n Ubuntu. No need to hack or dual boot or whatever. It'll launch like an app. Once in desktop mode, Ubuntu, then everything integrated. So you can even launch your android apps from within Ubuntu. Plus access to all the thousands of free full fledged Ubuntu PC apps. So this will be a more complete version than anything we've seen so far on prime. Plus it'll be alot more powerful. Linux/Ubuntu(Backtrack5) on prime doesn't have complete access to prime power, CPU/GPU, and resources. Everything with this new method will be seamlessly integrated into the android experience.
This might just be what android needed to get it over the hump. I can only see things getting better very fast from here on out. Apple has nothing to match or even come close to this experience we about to have.
My apologies but im not familiar with Ubuntu. What kind of advantages are we going to see. Will this be better than Android in terms of games, apps, productivity, etc? Better office? Better Browsing?
Also, whats with the whole docking situation? And anyone have more information on when this is gonna come out?
Thanks
xGary said:
My apologies but im not familiar with Ubuntu. What kind of advantages are we going to see. Will this be better than Android in terms of games, apps, productivity, etc? Better office? Better Browsing?
Also, whats with the whole docking situation? And anyone have more information on when this is gonna come out?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
more of a real desktop experience. Official PC apps, more in depth productivity and not dumbed down versions for android. Real Office. Docking station is just for phones. We should be able to run it on the tablet itself. No data of release.
For more detailed info just check out the link in the op that takes you to Ubuntu website where they discuss the Ubuntu/Android experience. This will be a big deal.
Well it sounds like it can be, but you're really going out on a limb here dude...might want to pull it in some until this comes to fruition. Just sayin.
demandarin said:
Yes, plus you won't have to jump through hoops to get it to work. It'll be officially supported by Android n Ubuntu. No need to hack or dual boot or whatever. It'll launch like an app. Once in desktop mode, Ubuntu, then everything integrated. So you can even launch your android apps from within Ubuntu. Plus access to all the thousands of free full fledged Ubuntu PC apps. So this will be a more complete version than anything we've seen so far on prime. Plus it'll be alot more powerful. Linux/Ubuntu(Backtrack5) on prime doesn't have complete access to prime power, CPU/GPU, and resources. Everything with this new method will be seamlessly integrated into the android experience.
This might just be what android needed to get it over the hump. I can only see things getting better very fast from here on out. Apple has nothing to match or even come close to this experience we about to have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will be the new convergenceof tech. All that power packing on phone and tablet. Now you can unlease it.
Imagine you have a tablet, then dock with kb to have a netbook, then when you are at office, plug in for the full desktop experience.
This is where tablet can transform the pc.
Sent from my Transformer Prime TF201 using Tapatalk
This would be amazing if we could run it on the tablet itself, almost sounds too good to be true. Wouldnt care for it as much if it needed to be docked to a computer monitor though. Hope he just did it because the screen size of the phone would make it impractical to run a desktop OS.
i can settle for this until Asus will integrate it!
Seems I'm fated to always play the role of the wet rag..
First, this will go nowhere. It's a proof-of-concept. See the dock? That means it must be a vendor (carrier) implemented solution, as each phone's form factor is different, and there can be no universal dock. This page is a pitch for carriers, not users.
When you get the carriers into the mix, then the question is, why the heck would they want an open-source OS on their product? That would create all sorts of havoc, and would reduce their control on the product. No carrier in its right mind would allow something like this to access their network, let alone officially support it.
Second, the value of the phone is its mobility, go-anywhere access. If dock+big screen are needed just to use Ubuntu, then its utility is marginalized. Ubuntu needs to be accessible and useful on the phone itself, which segues into the last point...
Third, looking at this, I'm disappointed, because it means that the Ubuntu UI still hasn't been adapted to a touch-based, small-screen form-factor. Everybody loves to hate Windows, but at least Microsoft is innovating for once with its Metro UI. Canonical needs to step up and do the same. Whatever it comes up with, Ubuntu needs to be a user-implementable solution, not a vendor (carrier)-based solution, else it will never see the light of day.

Ubuntu "webtop" via HDMI-out

You guys see this yet?
http://www.ubuntu.com/devices/android
I'm an Ubuntu fanboy and would absolutely love a rom with this functionality baked in.
I tried to install something similar. Locked bootloader prevented installation. Let me know if it works though. What I'm referring to is I Ubuntu installer on Android market.
Sent from my MB870 using XDA App
Here it is in action:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQozs5tXxwY
This would be frickin sweet but I would think that if anything were to keep us from having this, it would be the stupid locked bootloader. If our phones could do this, I'd for sure be buying a dock.
Thanks for the video link, I hadn't seen that yet. Extremely cool. (And yeah, extremely impossible given our bootloader situation.)
From what I get from the video, it seems like when you dock it to your Ubuntu computer, your android stuff is integrated into it. Or is there no computer needed? And if you dock it to an HD TV, you get pretty much an Ubuntu styled media center? Am I right? And I'm guessing this is just the beginning stages of it that not just anyone can get right now?
EDIT: Answered my own question on how it works. Read this on the website:
"Ubuntu for Android requires minimal custom hardware enablement, allowing fast and cost-efficient core integration. It requires a core based on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or any subsequent version.
Ubuntu and Android share the same kernel. When docked, the Ubuntu OS boots and runs concurrently with Android. This allows both mobile and desktop functionality to co-exist in different runtimes.
Shared services and applications are delivered using a Convergence API module which ensures the tight integration between desktop and mobile environments. Work is balanced across the cores of the phone. When the handset is not docked, both CPU cores transfer their full power to Android."
Requirements:
1. Dual-core 1GHz CPU
2. Video acceleration: shared kernel driver with associated X driver; Open GL, ES/EGL
3. Storage: 2GB for OS disk image
4. HDMI: video out with secondary frame buffer device
5. USB host mode
6. 512 MB RAM
I think number two is OUR only problem.
EDIT #2: And I guess they are advertising this for Handset makers or network operators. So I guess its not something we can just download and install ourselves.
I got around to getting in touch with the people at Ubuntu. I will await their reply and post what I get. Hopefully it will be some good news. I really want this!!!
Sent from my MB870 using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 10:38 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------
By the way....a better video on this. Still AWESOME!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deT1LSCuI_Y
Update: At about 10:45 in the video, we kind of get what they are trying to do. They want to direct it towards device manufacturers to integrate it into future phones. He mentions one day maybe it will be able to be installed by "home users" but I dont think thats where its being pushed towards. The good thing is that they are working with Motorola. Maybe this is part of Google purchasing Motorola. But this whole thing seems to be still up in the air. I really hope we see this one day on the Droid X2.
And if anyone is interested, this is the response I got from the Ubuntu Team:
Thank you for your interest in Ubuntu for Android. We are still in the early stages of development, but industry reaction so far has been incredible.
Right now, we’re working with hardware manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the product to market. If you’d like to follow our progerss, the easiest ways to do this are:
Join the discussions in #ubuntu on Freenode (irc).
Check the Ubuntu web pages for more updates.
Follow @Canonical on Twitter for the latest news.
Thanks again!
Yours sincerely,
The Ubuntu team
Cool, I really hope they're not blowing smoke about manufacturer interest.
History shows OEMs are more interested in "differentiation" than user experience. So the pessimistic side of me thinks we'll see more **** implementations of the concept (like Moto WebTop) and less OEMs embracing the awesome openness of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is HERE!!!

Finally Ubuntu for the tablets is here. That's Right!!! This Thursday for the nexus7 and 10. Here goes the official video http://youtu.be/h384z7Ph0gU
hit the thanks... been a while
Almost here ,.....
Sent from my HTC Droid Dna Venom Rom using Tapatalk 2
horatiob said:
Finally Ubuntu for the tablets is here. That's Right!!! This Thursday for the nexus7 and 10. Here goes the official video http://youtu.be/h384z7Ph0gU
hit the thanks... been a while
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just the developer preview right now it looks like, I thought it was the full release for some reason. Anyone planning to jump in head first just for fun?
I think I'm going to wait a little bit, conceptually it seems great but I would initially like to "dual-boot" if that is in any way possible - does it actually install a grub like pre-loader where I could choose to boot to my SentinalROM instead? How about Google Play store integration, any news on that? The biggest hurdle for myself would be losing access to all my Play Store games/books.
Astriaal said:
Just the developer preview right now it looks like, I thought it was the full release for some reason. Anyone planning to jump in head first just for fun?
I think I'm going to wait a little bit, conceptually it seems great but I would initially like to "dual-boot" if that is in any way possible - does it actually install a grub like pre-loader where I could choose to boot to my SentinalROM instead? How about Google Play store integration, any news on that? The biggest hurdle for myself would be losing access to all my Play Store games/books.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh absolutely. I plan on downloading it as soon as it goes live.
Sent from my GT-N7100
Astriaal said:
Just the developer preview right now it looks like, I thought it was the full release for some reason. Anyone planning to jump in head first just for fun?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep
Astriaal said:
Just the developer preview right now it looks like, I thought it was the full release for some reason. Anyone planning to jump in head first just for fun?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to give it a try on my Nexus 7.. That's my entertainment/screw around with my own builds tablet.. I'm really not privvy to testing "development previews" of an alternate OS on a $500 tablet.. I'll at minimum wait a bit to feel it out on the Nexus 7 first and hear back from those who did try it on the Nexus 10.
Can this be dual booted?
I already backed up my tablet's data on pc. Ready to install it on both nexus 7 and 10!
tawfiqmp said:
Can this be dual booted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't read detail on it yet, but I did see a note indicating that it can be set up with dual boot -- needs a custom recovery, but it appeared pretty straightforward when I glanced at the description. Dual boot would certainly make me more receptive to giving it a try.
I'm not much of a developer but I'm all over this. Been waiting for over a year for this.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
Dual boot is mandatory for me to do this
SayWhat10 said:
Dual boot is mandatory for me to do this
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed. dual boot or no go!
if there is ubuntu for android where you have access to your android apps. Why cant we do that with our nexus 10?
I dont care for dualbooting if I can have access to android apps from within ubuntu.
horatiob said:
if there is ubuntu for android where you have access to your android apps. Why cant we do that with our nexus 10?
I dont care for dualbooting if I can have access to android apps from within ubuntu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I know you do not have access to your android applications you simply have ubuntu.
Sent from a SGS3 GT-i9305
Loving this. You know they're turning this loose for the imaginative dev/hacker community to get great ideas for a full release on their own devices. It will benefit all in the long run. Google better embrace this as the future, I hope.
Sent from my LT28at using XDA Premium HD app
fredphoesh said:
As far as I know you do not have access to your android applications you simply have ubuntu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well that sounds like............it sucks. smh
i mean all these people happy to that ubuntu is about here, that they would give up all their android apps? really????????????????
Recon Freak said:
Loving this. You know they're turning this loose for the imaginative dev/hacker community to get great ideas for a full release on their own devices. It will benefit all in the long run. Google better embrace this as the future, I hope.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's great seeing this kind of development, but I'm not yet clear that it's something that would help Google or necessarily benefit the majority of the user community...at least not in the near term. Google's been working hard at gaining market acceptance for Android, and a significant component of this will likely be, increasingly, the availability of Android as an internally consistent ecosystem that spans phone and tablets. Ubuntu is pushing the same idea, i.e., a single ecosystem that encompasses phones, tablets and PC's -- and that's great. But unless there's interoperability between OS's, it may be a while before the consumer market is ready to embrace yet another mobile OS in a big way, as appealing as Ubuntu may be.
My Android phone (Galaxy Nexus) and tablets (N10 and N7) work so well together these days that I really wouldn't want to replace any of them with a device running an OS and aps that didn't "connect" with my other devices as well and seamlessly as they all work together now. I'm also not about to replace all 3 devices right away, and start fresh finding apps that mimic the functionality of the 100+ Android apps that I have installed.
Android and Ubuntu are both based on Linux at the lowest levels, so they can take advantage of common hardware drivers. But at the app level, they're based on different languages and runtime systems - so far. At the moment, Android apps can't run on Ubuntu in any kind of native mode and vice versa. While Google is working to gain broad acceptance of Android, what incentive would they have to throw another OS in the mix at this stage of the game?
jonstrong said:
Android and Ubuntu are both based on Linux at the lowest levels, so they can take advantage of common hardware drivers. But at the app level, they're based on different languages and runtime systems - so far. At the moment, Android apps can't run on Ubuntu in any kind of native mode and vice versa. While Google is working to gain broad acceptance of Android, what incentive would they have to throw another OS in the mix at this stage of the game?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I meant to quote and managed to thank you - While they are based on different levels I do recall hearing that there would be a dalvik vm built into ubuntu to allow for android applications to run inside the system as well - as long as you have the apk and such. Similar to BlueStacks for W8 and Windows desktop.
omac_ranger said:
Well I meant to quote and managed to thank you - While they are based on different levels I do recall hearing that there would be a dalvik vm built into ubuntu to allow for android applications to run inside the system as well - as long as you have the apk and such. Similar to BlueStacks for W8 and Windows desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the thanks, however inadvertent
As far as I've read, Canonical doesn't plan on creating a Dalvik JVM for Ubuntu any time soon. The statement from them suggested that they recognize that native compiled apps (the dev ecosystem on Ubuntu is primarily HTML5, QML, C++) will run faster and more efficiently than code running within a JVM -- this was part of the comment when asked if they were planning to incorporate a Dalvik emulator in Ubuntu. There's nothing to prevent someone from developing one, but making this work properly will also require cooperation between the Dalvik implementation and the security framework in Ubuntu -- certainly possible, but I'm guessing it could be a year before anything comprehensive along those lines is likely to make it to market.
There's also another question nagging at me: how will Google evolve Android over the next couple of years? With an increasing number of apps rolling out for Android, it's conceivable that multiple windows (such as Samsung already offers) may become a regular feature, apps will become increasingly powerful -- and the distinction, at least for many people and many applications -- between PC and Android device -- will become vanishingly small for many purposes. If that happens, my guess is that this would further reduce any incentive for Google to somehow tie Ubuntu in with Android.
Of course I could be 100% wrong, and this just be the kind of thinking that happens after a 12 hour day without enough coffee... I personally love the evolution of hardware and software, and look forward to seeing how this all pans out. Fun to speculate in the meantime.
jonstrong said:
Thanks for the thanks, however inadvertent
As far as I've read, Canonical doesn't plan on creating a Dalvik JVM for Ubuntu any time soon. The statement from them suggested that they recognize that native compiled apps (the dev ecosystem on Ubuntu is primarily HTML5, QML, C++) will run faster and more efficiently than code running within a JVM -- this was part of the comment when asked if they were planning to incorporate a Dalvik emulator in Ubuntu. There's nothing to prevent someone from developing one, but making this work properly will also require cooperation between the Dalvik implementation and the security framework in Ubuntu -- certainly possible, but I'm guessing it could be a year before anything comprehensive along those lines is likely to make it to market.
There's also another question nagging at me: how will Google evolve Android over the next couple of years? With an increasing number of apps rolling out for Android, it's conceivable that multiple windows (such as Samsung already offers) may become a regular feature, apps will become increasingly powerful -- and the distinction, at least for many people and many applications -- between PC and Android device -- will become vanishingly small for many purposes. If that happens, my guess is that this would further reduce any incentive for Google to somehow tie Ubuntu in with Android.
Of course I could be 100% wrong, and this just be the kind of thinking that happens after a 12 hour day without enough coffee... I personally love the evolution of hardware and software, and look forward to seeing how this all pans out. Fun to speculate in the meantime.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why does Ubuntu have to do anything with Google?
The developer preview is being made for Nexus devices but that's only because they are readily available and open to hacking.
I don't think Canonical realistically thinks Ubuntu will be the lead platform for Phones and Tablets but that's okay. They're currently trying to fill a niche with their tablet OS which is the enterprise market. This is one place where Android hasn't made a ton of inroads and it happens to be where Canonical makes their money(albeit still not profitable).

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