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Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for AndroidHandset cohabitation: Ubuntu for AndroidPosted Feb 22, 2012 0:16 UTC (Wed) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203)Parent article: Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android
And I notice one feature that is notable for being missing. No ability to access Android applications on the Ubuntu desktop. SInce it is already running the Android kernel it really should be possible to make it work. Yes, the whole point of this exercise is taking advantage of the fact most Android apps do not work well on a large screen with a mouse and keyboard but not all apps have a desktop replacement and thus no easy way to access the information within other than fiddling with the phone in it's dock.
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Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 0:42 UTC (Wed) by aryonoco (subscriber, #55563) [Link]
Have a look at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&...
The ability to run Android apps in Ubuntu mode is well supported. Also sharing of data (pictures, movies, contacts) seems very seamless as well. It even integrates with the telephony stack of the phone, allowing the user to use SMS, make calls, or use the phones' data connection in Ubuntu mode.
I would actually say that for an alpha product that has been just announced, it seems very well done.
By the end of the year, we will have dual core ARM Cortex-A15 processors in high-end phones, far more powerful than the current generation of Cortex-A9s. Such a massive jump in performance will unlock many new usage scenarios and running a full desktop environment on a phone a might become a reasonable possibility. Motorola's Webtop has shown that there is great interest in such a concept, but Moto's implementation suffers greatly from limited functionality and lacklustre performance. A full Ubuntu desktop running on a high end Cortex A-15 smartphone might indeed prove an interesting concept, and provide a useful differentiating factor for an OEM.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 1:50 UTC (Wed) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]
Wait, pause that, yeah right there. That part of running Android apps in Ubuntu ... how the heck are they pulling that off? Any dox anywhere on that?
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 3:31 UTC (Wed) by felixfix (subscriber, #242) [Link]
Android apps are just java. There should be no problem running them outside of Android, given the right libraries. I believe the Android SDK includes all that.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 4:13 UTC (Wed) by ThinkRob (subscriber, #64513) [Link]
> Android apps are just java.
Not quite. They're written (mostly) in Java, but they're not Java apps per se, as they compile to different bytecode and run on a different VM (Dalvik, not a JVM.)
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 6:28 UTC (Wed) by Cyberax (✭ supporter ✭, #52523) [Link]
Probably they run them on the Android side and just use rendered surfaces.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 15:14 UTC (Wed) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]
I'd love to see the code for that.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 22:07 UTC (Wed) by rvfh (subscriber, #31018) [Link]
Well you have only one graphics driver, and it's on Android's side, so that implies SurfaceFlinger is the ultimate compositor and Ubuntu is just one object (albeit using the full second screen), correct? Having the Android app display on top of the Ubuntu desktop is then just a compositing issue: "blit that window on top of that framebuffer at that position".
Please let me know if I'm talking BS :-)
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 22:14 UTC (Wed) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]
Your guess is as probably better than mine. I'd just like to see how that code does it.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 11:10 UTC (Wed) by mgedmin (subscriber, #34497) [Link]
I assumed it was a VNC-like solution of some kind when I looked at that video earlier today.
Now all I can see is "This video has been removed by the user. Sorry about that."
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 15:15 UTC (Wed) by karim (subscriber, #114) [Link]
Hmm. Yeah, VNC might be it. But it's hard to tell.
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 22, 2012 10:24 UTC (Wed) by zyga (subscriber, #81533) [Link]
This feature is not missing. Look at OMG Ubuntu video demo. You can access all android apps from the docked Ubuntu, running on your big screen (in a window of the same size as your android screen is)
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 23, 2012 22:50 UTC (Thu) by jmorris42 (subscriber, #2203) [Link]
> in a window of the same size as your android screen is
Ok, so half credit for that then. At least you can get at info locked away in an App even if it can't take advantage of the larger screen like a tablet could.
Still not sure what I think about this whole notion though. If you have to be docked to run the Ubuntu apps why not just have a real desktop CPU and let it get access to the phone info and/or connectivity when it is connected via USB or even WiFi? You lose the slow flash drive and the pokey low power ARM chip and gain a big 'ol x86_64 with a fast HDD or SSD and a smoking (bottom end integrated Intel graphics competes well with most SoC phone graphics) video card.
I mean, lots of points for cool factor, just not sure how many points for utility. If the dock can be really inexpensive and phones get a little more capable (which of course they will) it might work for some basic infoworker level desktop tasks but what workplace is going to give those people a state of the second smartphone with an LTE contract? Really? Just not seeing the labor demographic being targeted. Cheap Dell desktops and either basic smartphones... or better just call their existing phones and don't hand out phones at all vs state of the art smartphones and wireless data contracts with enough transfer to think about desktop replacement use?
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 23, 2012 23:35 UTC (Thu) by dlang (✭ supporter ✭, #313) [Link]
> I mean, lots of points for cool factor, just not sure how many points for utility. If the dock can be really inexpensive and phones get a little more capable
I think it's a given that phones are going to get a lot more capable
as for the dock being inexpensive, for my tablet, all I need is a HDMI cable and a keyboard (either USB or bluetooth), how much cheaper do you need to be?
the other advantage is that if you use your android device as your computer, you can use a public dock without any real worries about malware stealing or destroying your data (yes, someone can make a malicious keyboard or mouse, but that's a targeted attack on a particular physical location, not something in the same class as what can happen to a public use desktop machine)
Handset cohabitation: Ubuntu for Android Posted Feb 24, 2012 6:26 UTC (Fri) by AndreE (subscriber, #60148) [Link]
How about the convenience of buying one $600 dual or quad core machine that doubles as your phone and your desktop?
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