Ubuntu Touch on Nexus 7(2013)

ubuntu touch os and ubuntu mobile review on the Nexus 7

There has been a small storm brewing and more and more attention going to Canonical and Ubuntu for their touch OS. They have an interesting approach and goals, as they are aiming for convergence across the phone, tablet, and desktop. I have installed Ubuntu Touch on my Nexus 7(2013) and we will see if they are working on the next big thing or the next big failure.

Overview
Canonical's take on the mobile OS market is being executed really well. They are building a product that will make waves in the market. There are some many great ideas and concepts in the Ubuntu Touch OS, that it is hard to find one and say it is the best. There seems to be a race to convergence right now, as we see with Microsoft's one OS on all your devices, but Canonical, with it's Ubuntu Touch, has an excellent strategy to make this happen.

Look and Feel
Ubuntu Touch looks beautiful! The plan that Canonical has as far as the UI is concerned is amazing. The UI has a, content is king, approach. All the apps, music, videos, and more are right there, available to you. The UI is continuing to progress and improve with each update. Canonical is making Ubuntu touch as pretty and polished as it can be, and this really shows. The software, for testing software, ran
really well. For the most part the UI is responsive, fast, and fluid. Still make no mistake, there are some issues since it is not a completed project yet. The app switching is fast and convenient, with a simple swipe from the right side you go to your last app or a swipe from the left and you are back to the home screen. The process of learning the gestures and swipes was so natural that I didn't even really think about once I saw what each gesture did.

Core Apps
The Ubuntu team is also working on, what they call, Core Apps. These are the apps that will bundled with the Ubuntu Touch OS. As of now the core apps that are available for testing right now are, Browser, Contacts, Friends, Messaging, Dialer, Calendar, Terminal, Reminders, Shorts, Music, Stocks, Gallery, Notes, Calculator, File Manager, Camera, and Clock. These are not finished and fully polished but they are making quick progress to get to that point. The majority of the apps have little glitches and bugs right now but you get to see what Canonical's plans and visions are for the OS, and they have great ideas. The apps get updated frequently and Ubuntu has hack-a-thons to find and resolve as many bugs as possible in the apps. The Core Apps show great potential and I look forward to see what Canonical has planned for the future of the apps.

Final Thoughts
The Ubuntu Touch OS is a clean and sleek user experience with a beautiful user interface. Though it is not finished and polished you can see the vision that Canonical has for the OS and it is very encouraging. The Ubuntu Touch OS does an excellent job of bring what you need and use regularly right to the forefront. We will be watching this mobile operating system closely... with much excitement.

Update
The Ubuntu Touch OS has updated it's UI and is really focusing on Scopes. I have some pictures below for you to see what Canonical is working on. They have been making really good progress on the mobile OS.