Installing the emulator

Although there are many emulators, SNesoid is more useful. However, make sure that your android device has the technical specifications to support the app.

• Step 1: Access your android phone’s Settings menu and tap Applications
  
• Step 2: Now tap ‘Unknown sources’. This will allow you to install applications that are not available in Play Store. SNesoid is a free application, but is not available in the Play Store.
• Step 3: Now launch the web browser in your phone and go to www.slideme.org
• Step 4: Browse the website and download SNesoid android application
  
• Step 5: Now drag down the notification bar and tap the ‘Download Complete’ notification to install the app in your phone
• Step 6: Now tap the emulator to launch it to check if it is working
  Now that you have installed SNesoid, you need to download SNES games so that you can emulate them with the app. You can download these games for free. They are referred to as SNES ROMs and come with .SMC file extension.

Downloading ROMs

• Step 1: Go to Google in your web browser
• Step 2: Search for SNES ROMs of .smc file extensions
• Step 3: Once you’ve found a safe site to download the roms, start downloading any number of games you like
• Step 4: if you are downloading the ROMs in your PC, connect your phone to the PC via USB
• Step 5: Now find the ROMs and copy them in a folder in your SD Card. If you have downloaded the ROMs in your phone,
• Step 6: Tap on a downloaded ROM from the notification bar
• Step 7: When prompted to choose an app to open the file, select SNesoid. After copying the ROMs in your SD card from your PC, disconnect the handset.
• Step 8: Now launch SNesoid
• Step 9: Navigate to the folder in SD card, where you stored the game
• Step 10: Click on any ROM to launch it in the app. The app shows virtual buttons in the screen itself that responds to touch.

SNesoid also supports physical controllers. If you want to use a Physical controller to play the games,

• Step 1: Connect the physical controller to the phone
• Step 2: Go to the Settings menu in the app
• Step 3: Choose Input settings
• Step 4: Now uncheck the checkbox for Virtual keypad settings
• Step 5: Go to Key mappings
• Step 6: Now tap on each button and assign physical buttons using the controller

Conclusion

The free SNesoid emulator allows users to map their own controls and also includes Xperia Play support. Users will be able save states and play multiplayer over Bluetooth or WiFi networks. It’s almost compatible with every .smc SNES ROM in the internet and offers good performance without lags.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

It’s comparatively easier to configure wireless network in Windows 7 than in Windows XP. A local wired network is easier to connect and configure in Windows XP. But once you connect and configure wireless networks in Windows XP, you will be able to easily do this anytime.

Getting started

Wireless networks are automatically scanned and detected by Windows XP. The OS will attempt to connect to the discovered network automatically. However, if it doesn’t, you will have to configure the network yourself manually.

• Step 1: Click Start button and then click Run

  

• Step 2: Type ‘ncpa.cpl’ without quotes in the Run dialog box’s empty field and hit Enter
  This will open the Network Connections window.
  
• Step 3: When the window appears, make a right click on the Wireless Network Connection icon
• Step 4: Now click Properties in the context menu that appears. You will now see the Properties dialog box in the screen.
• Step 5: Click the Wireless Networks tab
  

  Note: If there is no such tab in the Properties, then it means your network adapter doesn’t support Wireless Zero Configuration service. Make sure you have enabled this service and set it to ‘Automatic’.

• Step 6: Now click the Add button in the ‘Preferred networks’ section

Configuring the network

The Add button in the Wireless Network tab in the Properties box will let you add wireless networks to the system. Here you will have to configure the network by naming the access point and setting up wireless mode in the system.

A Network name box will appear when you click the Add button.

• Step 1: In the SSID box (Network name), provide a name for the access point
• Step 2: Now select the appropriate network settings based on your network requirements. The computer will match the settings you selected with the router or access point configuration. If you don’t own a wireless router or any wireless access points, you can set the wireless mode to ‘Ad-hoc’. You may also have the same network name matching other computers.
• Step 3: Once you are finished with selecting all the settings, click the OK button
• Step 4: Now go back to the Properties dialog box and click ‘View Wireless Networks’ button which would be in the ‘Available networks’ section, just above ‘Preferred networks’. You will now see the Wireless Network Connection dialog box.
• Step 5: Choose the network of your preference by clicking on the network’s name
• Step 6: Now click the Connect button. This will establish a connection with the network that you have selected.

Note: The system automatically determines whether a network is secured or unsecured. So they may appear either unsecured or secured in the list of networks. If there is a network security enabled, then you will be able to see a gold padlock. In such cases, in order to connect to the network, you will need to provide the network password or number to connect.

Conclusion

You have successfully established a wireless connection in Windows XP. Windows XP Service Pack 2 versions validate all wireless networks before establishing the connection. After authentication, Windows will then attempt to acquire the network address. An IP address will be obtained as a result.

If this fails, the system will be assigned a private IP address automatically and you will receive either a Limited connectivity or No connectivity message. Make sure that Windows Firewall isn’t blocking the network, otherwise you will be unable to access it.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

iPhone users may find it difficult to transfer the contacts in their iPhone to a Android phone. To transfer contacts, mails and messages from iPhone to Android, you need to convert these files to format which Android OS is capable of understanding. There is another alternative. This tutorial will be useful in helping you learn how to transfer iPhone contacts to Android using Google Contacts feature.

Syncing contacts to Google Contacts

Syncing iPhone contacts to Google Contacts can be done in two ways, either by using iTunes or via iCloud. But you require a Google account for both, which is free.

Using iTunes to sync to Google Contacts

• Step 1: Manually backup your iPhone to the PC using iTunes
• Step 2: Open iTunes
• Step 3: Plug in the iPhone to the computer using a USB cable
• Step 4: Select iPhone in iTunes
• Step 5: Choose to Sync Contacts with Google Contacts under the Info tab. You can select Google Contacts from the dropdown box under Info tab. Now you will be prompted to provide your Gmail ID and password.

• Step 6: Enter Gmail ID and Password.
• Step 7: Wait for it to synchronize
• Step 8: After synchronization, go to Gmail and log in to your account.
• Step 9: Then select Contacts in Gmail. You will find the iPhone contacts here.

Using iCloud to sync to Google Contacts

You require an iCloud account for this. You should also have a backup in iCloud.

• Step 1: Go to iCloud.com and log in to your iCloud account
• Step 2: Go to Contacts. You will see all your iPhone contacts here.
• Step 3: Press Ctrl + A to select all contacts
• Step 4: Click on Settings
• Step 5: Now select Export vCard

• Step 6: Go to Gmail.com and log in to your account
• Step 7: Select Import Contacts from the dropdown box beside ‘More’. An alert will appear now prompting you to choose the vCard file.
• Step 8: Choose the Exported vCard file you exported from iCloud
• Step 9: Click Import. Now all contacts will appear in Google Contacts

To get rid of duplicate Google Contacts

• Step 1: In Gmail Contacts, click on ‘More’
• Step 2: Now click ‘Find and Merge duplicates’. Go through the names in the page that pops up in the screen.
• Step 3: Select the duplicate contacts
• Step 4: Click Merge button at the bottom

Syncing Contacts to Android

• Step 1: Go to Menu and tap Settings in your Android phone
• Step 2: Now tap Accounts and Sync
• Step 3: Tap on Add Account and select Google
• Step 4: Tap Sign In
• Step 5: Login to the Gmail account you synced your iPhone contacts to. Wait for some time for the Sync options.

• Step 6: Tap Sync Contacts to check the checkbox
• Step 7: Tap on Finish. This will Sync your iPhone contacts to your Android phone. Verify this in your Contacts list in the phone.

Conclusion

If you don’t merge duplicate contacts in Google Contacts, you will find a lot of repeated entries after syncing the contacts to your Android phone. You will never lose Contacts even if you lose your android phone or format it because it will be always available in Google Contacts.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Some users might want to have open access to the data and integrate this data from Instagram to the applications they develop. Fortunately, such users will be able to do this by registering for the Instagram Application Programming Interface or Instagram API. This tutorial is for Application developers and users who are learning to develop applications.

How to register for API Account

You can register for Instagram API only if you have an Instagram account. If you don’t have an Instagram account, then
Step 1: Download Instagram from the App Store in iOS devices or from Google Play in Android devices.
Step 2: Install Instagram in your device
Step 3: Run Instagram after installing the application
A prompt will appear welcoming you to Instagram. The prompt will ask you to Sign Up for sharing photos.
Step 4: Click on OK

Step 5: In the app window, tap on Sign Up at the bottom
This will begin the signing up process, after which the account will be created. Follow the instructions given and fill the fields carefully. Once you have created the account, you can exit the application.

Registering for Instagram API

Step 1: Open the browser in your phone or PC
Step 2: Go to this website
Clicking on this link will take you to the Developer login page of Instagram. Once you can see the page in the browser,
Step 3: Give the Username and Password you just created in the fields
Step 4: Click the ‘Login’ button after verifying the username and password you entered
You will be logged in to the Instagram Developer page with your Instagram Account. A new page called ‘Developer Documentation’ appears before you. This page will have a form which you need to fill out.
Step 5: Fill up the form providing your website URL, your phone number and the application that you intend to develop with the Application Programming Interface (API).

In third and last field of the empty form in the page, give a short description of the application you are planning to build using the Instagram’s API.
Step 6: Check the ‘I accept the API Terms of Use and Brand Guidelines’ checkbox
Step 7: Click on the ‘Sign Up’ button at the bottom of the form
Before clicking on the Sign Up button, make sure you follow the link ‘Terms of use and Brand Guidelines’. This will take you to the terms and conditions page of the API. Go through the page thoroughly. Once you are sure you want to proceed, click on the Sign Up button.
After building an application with the Instagram API,
Step 8: In the Instagram developer page, click on the Overview button on the left side of the screen

Step 9: Click on the blue ‘Register Your Application’ button to register the application that you built.
You have now successfully registered for the Instagram API.

Conclusion

You will be able to register the applications you build with the API from the Instagram developer page. For each application registered, Instagram will give you an ‘OAuth client_id’ and ‘client_secret’. However, please be informed that putting the name ‘Instagram’ in the application you created is completely against the API Terms of Use and hence make sure that you follow the terms of use while creating the same.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Linking Twitter account to Facebook will automatically convert the Facebook status updates into tweets. This is especially useful when using smartphones or tablets to social network as it saves considerable time and effort when a person is on the go.

This process is very easy on BlackBerry phone. Primarily you need to have Facebook and Twitter user accounts to link the two accounts on your BlackBerry phone. Go to both the websites and create user accounts if you do not have them. Either log in to Facebook account or use Twitter Facebook application in the BlackBerry device in order to open the application page available on Facebook and proceed to link the two accounts.

Steps to link Facebook and Twitter

1. Create account on Twitter. Access ‘Home’ screen of BlackBerry phone. Press Twitter icon. Click ‘Sign Up’. At this stage some of your personal information has to be given. After entering the relevant information in the required fields, click ‘Create my account’. Your Twitter account has been created. Log out of the account after creating it.
2. Create account on Facebook. Access the ‘Home’ screen again. Click Facebook icon. After that click on ‘Sign Up’. Here, you will be required to enter some personal information in the required fields. After doing so, click ‘Create my account’. Your Facebook account has been created. Log out of the account.
3. Launch the web browser on the BlackBerry phone. In order to link your Facebook account to Twitter account, you have to copy and paste the following URL address on the URL box. After doing so, click search button. This is the Twitter application page on Facebook.
4. Log in to Facebook account. This can be done typing in the email address and password in the relevant fields and clicking ‘Login’. You will be asked the question, ‘Would you like to connect your Twitter and Facebook accounts?’

1. Type your username for Twitter in the field ‘Twitter Username’ and the Twitter account password in the field ‘Twitter Password’. Click ‘Allow’. This will link your Twitter and Facebook accounts. If the linking has been successfully completed, a message will be displayed on the screen- ‘Your Facebook & Twitter accounts are connected!’
2. You can now post a message onto the Twitter Home screen. In the update status field, type a message that has less than 140 characters. Click ‘Update’ when you are done to send the message.
3. In order to reply to a Twitter message or Tweet send by someone, you can highlight that message and click ‘Menu’ key. Click ‘Reply’ and type in the message you wish to send on the field that appears on Twitter Home screen. Click ‘Reply’ to send the message to that individual. Click ‘Reply All’ in order to send the reply message to everyone mentioned in the message you received.

Conclusion

People with user accounts in different social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can use this option of linking these accounts and not waste any time logging into both sites to update their status. In order to link Twitter account to Facebook, you have to access the Twitter application page on Facebook and allow the two accounts to be linked. You can post updates and sent messages in Twitter via Facebook once this linking has been executed.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

The device recognizes when the S-Pen is hovering over the screen and an indicator without even the need for a press. The appearance of the mouse pointer-like indicator lets you know that you are within hovering distance. Air View offers complete precision and control and allows users to move using their S-Pen over S Planner, email, image gallery, video etc. to have a preview of the content without actually opening it.

How to activate Air View?

Air View will be turned on in your Samsung Galaxy Note 2 by default. In case, the feature is not activated on Galaxy Note 2, the following steps will help you turn it on. It is advisable to turn on Air view as the feature even ensures that your S-Pen is always in proximity to your device.

1. Access notifications bar. Tap cog icon on the top right corner. Select ‘S-Pen’ option underneath ‘System option’. Press ‘S-Pen’. On scrolling down further, you can see the subsection ‘Air View’.
2. Air View can be turned on or off by pressing the button that is located on the right of ‘Air View’.
3. Specific Air View features can be controlled as well. For this, you have to type in the actual words. This will navigate you to a menu which provides the option of activating or deactivating the following options.
   • Information preview: information can be previewed on hovering.
   • Pointer: a pointer which hovers
   • List scrolling: Lists can be scrolled on using hover.
   • Icon labels: labels will appear on hovering over icons.

How to use Air View?

The interface on Samsung Galaxy Note 2, Touchwiz is compatible with Air View. This allows you to skip multiple steps in menus and applications in Touchwiz aiding you to search and view information quickly. You can perform the following functions with your S-Pen on being aided by Air View feature.

1. On hovering S-Pen on the side of a window that can be scrolled in notification bar or any menu, you can scroll left, right, up or down.
2. Air View has compatibility with Samsung email client. This allows you the liberty of hovering over the preview of an email and viewing a sizable portion of the email on a pop-up window. This saves you the need for opening the complete mail.
3. Air View is very useful in image gallery as well. You can hover over the albums in your gallery using your S-Pen. Air View then offers a preview of photos inside the albums. This will also save you the need for opening numerous albums.
4. Air View can be used in the cases of videos as well. You can move your S-Pen over the video timeline which will show you the preview of the video at that particular timeline even while playing the video in current time. This can be helpful in finding a particular part in the video.
5. Air view works in the case of S Planner (the calendar in Galaxy Note 2) as well. For example, you can hover over any particular date in the month view. This will give you the preview of all the notes for that particular date. You can stick to one view throughout while doing this.
6. In the case of contacts, on hovering over address book entries, email, phone number and other details will be shown.
7. Air View feature is also useful for previewing messages as well as content in other applications.
8. The device even recognizes when the S-Pen has been removed. This feature will ensure that you will never leave behind your S-Pen. If you start to move away from the S-pen with your device, an alert will appear on the screen. This feature can be disabled for saving battery life, but it is advised to leave the feature on.

Conclusion

Air View is one of the most intuitive features on Samsung Galaxy Note 2. It allows users to use their S-Pen stylus with more ease than ever before, saving a lot of time. Air View allows the S-Pen to hover above the screen and lets the viewer get a preview of the content in the application over which the S-Pen is hovering. The feature lets you scroll windows, get preview of e-mails, images, videos, contacts, S planner and contents of many other applications on Samsung Galaxy Note 2.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Controls and Modes on DM1

The Drum Machine (DM1) can be purchased from the App Store for US$4.99. Once the app has been installed, you can easily start creating music on it and no special learning classes are required. When you start the app after installation, you will see a sample composition. You can try out some of the basic functions of DM1 to see how they work. Hit play, pause and other settings to see the changes you bring about to the composition.

The main controls of DM1 are lined up at the top-

1. Play/Pause button
2. BPM adjuster: This ranges from 30-240
3. Pattern Selector: This allows the selection from the 25 patterns available
4. Selectors: This will switch between the five major screens of the app- Pads, Steps, FX, Mixer and Song

The top row also features a sound bank having a range of modes which have sound sets from classic drum machines, acoustic tones, melodic instrument sets as well as original sound sets. Once you have familiarized yourself with the controls and modes a little, you can start making your own beats. The best way to learn to navigate the app is while making the beat.

How to use DM1?

1. Choose Song from top menu, press New and assign a name to the song you are going to create. The five main panels of the app can be used to build your tune.
2. Hit Pads. This will open up a screen having nine pads each of which corresponds to different tones. You can try out different rhythms and sound sets from app library. You can also record ‘live’, which means that you can add your own tweaks and alterations to the chosen sound set.

1. After choosing the sound set you intend to use, press Mixer. This control allows you to adjust the individual parameters- level, length, pitch and pan- for your nine sounds. The option also allows you to give beat by beat adjustment of levels for each sound, activate randomizer, set sound in reverse etc. Mixer also allows you to swap a sound in one set with a sound in another set. The above settings can be applied to the whole song or individual patterns.
2. Hitting Steps will provide a visualization of the tune as a grid showing one or two bars at a time. You can manipulate the notes, hit play and keep working on it until you get your tune right. Rhythms can be set even to 16th-note increments with 8 beats for a single pattern at the most. You can create odd measures of beats as well by sliding the right edge of the grid to the left.
3. After mixing, press FX in order to give your beat an edge with overdrive, phaser, delay, robotizer, texturizer, compressor or filter. If you are not sure of what option to choose, you can just experiment with everything until you come up with something that sounds right.
4. Head over to Mixer again to make slight adjustments to what you have created so far.

Lastly, you have to head over to Songs for setting your composition. The patterns can be stacked, repeated, rearranged on a timeline. The next pattern can be chosen by pressing Pattern indicator given on top bar. You can copy an already existing pattern or start a new one.

1. When you are finally finished with your tune, you can export it through mail, Audiocopy or iTunes.

Conclusion

The Drum Machine DM1 from Fingerlab is one of the most impressive music apps available for iOS, in terms of offering a music platform which is easy to use without the complications of other music apps. The app is interesting enough to never appear stale as well, with the large number of options it provides.

DM1 has several modes and controls with which you can create tunes with ease. The steps are very straightforward and at no point will you feel lost while using the app.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Users having iOS 6 can now stream their photos directly onto other iOS devices through Shared Photo Streams. They can share or post photos to the Photo Stream Album that is hosted by iCloud. The photos that have been shared at the album will not count against the storage that the user has been allotted in iCloud. This will function over cellular and Wi-Fi data as well.

How to share Photo Steam Album?

You can share photos with other iOS users or by creating a Shared Photo Stream album on iCloud.com for non-iOS users, provided you have the new iOS 6. Here are the steps to make Shared Photo Streams on iOS 6.

1. On your iOS device, launch the Photos app. At the bottom of your screen you can see the ‘Photo Stream’ tab, which has to be tapped to proceed.
2. Tap the ‘+’ sign on the left corner of the top of the screen. A window appears on tapping this, requiring you to enter information regarding Shared Photo Stream. You have to enter email addresses of all those who you wish to share the Photo Stream with. Then, a name has to be given for the Photo Stream.

There is an option which allows you to make the Photo Stream accessible to public on iCloud.com. This is not mandatory and you can decide whether to opt for it or not. Only if the Public Website switch is toggled to On people without iCloud accounts can view the shared album on iCloud website.

1. Open Shared Photo Stream that you just created. Tap on the ‘Edit’ button present on the right corner on the top. After this, tap on ‘Add’ which comes at the bottom part of the screen. All that is left is for you to select the photos you want to share from your iOS device. When all the photos to be shared are selected, click on ‘Done’ option given at top right corner of the screen.
2. An alternate method for adding photos is for you to tap ‘Edit’ button given on the top right part of the Camera Roll or an album. Select the required photos. Tap ‘Share’ button given at the bottom. After this, select ‘Photo Stream’, then the photo stream that you just created earlier. You can then leave a comment before submitting it.
3. The selected photos will then be immediately pushed to the people invited to see the Shared Photo Stream. In the photos app, at the right of the Photo Stream, there is a blue arrow. On tapping this arrow, you can manage the subscriptions of the Photo Stream.
4. People you have shared the photos with can then comment and like your photos through their iOS devices. You will also receive alerts when someone likes or comments on your shared photos. However, only you can add photos to your Photo Stream.

Conclusion

The Shared Photo Stream option of iOS 6 allows you to upload photos to a website at zero cost and share them with other iOS users. It is extremely helpful to share photos with family and friends who do not use iOS or iCloud as well. You can send these photos directly to other iOS devices or share them through iCloud.com.

You can create a Photo Stream and add the email addresses of those who you want to share the album with. You can also make the album public on iCloud. The invited people can then like and comment on your shared photos.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Many of them settle to start afresh and leave their files and settings behind in the old phone. However, it is possible to transfer files, contacts, videos and photos from old files to the new one by following a few straightforward steps.

Initial set-up and steps

Users can transfer files to their iPhone 5 from Samsung Galaxy 3 after they have set up their iPhone and activated it. The following step-by-step instructions can be followed to make this transfer. This is not applicable to call history and text messages which are dependent on the operating system.

• On your Galaxy 3, go to Contacts. Choose the menu button and then select Import/Export. Next, choose Export to Storage and select the data you wish to transfer (‘Phone’, in most cases). Select OK
• Connect your Galaxy 3 to your computer via USB. Activate the Disk Drive Mode in the phone. This will make the Galaxy 3 appear as a drive on Mac desktop or in My Computer. (Two drives will appear if your phone has as SD card).
• Create a folder on your desktop. Name this folder as ‘Galaxy 3’ or ‘Android data’ or anything you prefer. The folder is basically for storing all the information you need from your Galaxy 3. Thoroughly go through the files contained in the Android drive on the Mac desktop or My Computer and choose all the files you need to transfer to your iPhone 5.
• Drop the selected files which include music, photos, videos etc. on to the newly created folder in the desktop. It is important that the search is thorough since it will be a waste of time going back to doing the whole process again if you miss any relevant files.
• Search for VCF file and save it in the folder as well since this file has all your contacts. Drop this folder to the iPhone data folder. You are all ready to transfer this data to your iPhone, provided you have set it up and activated it.

Transferring music

Connect your iPhone to iTunes. In order to transfer music, all you have to do is drag the iPhone data folder on the desktop folder (which now has the data from your Galaxy 3) over the name of your iPhone seen in the iTunes sidebar. This will transfer all the songs in that folder to your iPhone 5. This technique can be used to transfer any music file on your desktop to your iPhone 5. The transferred music can be found in Music app of iPhone 5.

Transferring photos and videos

On the left sidebar of iTunes, you will be able to see your phone’s name. Click on the phone’s name. Go to main window and access photos tab. Check out the option ‘Sync photos’. A drop-down menu will appear on which you have to click ‘Choose folder’.

You can then navigate to the folder containing the data from your Galaxy 3 on your desktop. You can see that your photos have now appeared in the Photos app on your iPhone 5. Videos can also be transferred in a similar manner.

Conclusion

The steps given above make the whole process of transferring files from Android phone to iPhone very simple. All it requires is connecting your Samsung Galaxy 3 (Android phone) to your computer and saving all the files to a desktop folder and then dropping it into the iPhone data folder. The next step is to connect iPhone to iTunes and then transfer photos, videos, music and contacts as described.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.

Ubuntu is available for mobile operators, handset OEMs and silicon vendors for the very first time. Canonical seems to be pushing for an OS that will be adaptable to different kinds of devices.

The Ubuntu OS for smartphones has been optimized for email, web, messaging, calls and media consumption. Ubuntu phones will cater to mainly two key segments. One is for those who require wanting a basic but elegant smartphone. The other is for those who require desktop capability and enterprise-grade thin client via a secure smartphone.

Ubuntu for entry level and high-end smartphones

Ubuntu OS for entry-level smartphones offers a stunning interface. When compared to Android, Ubuntu OS is uncluttered and easy to use. The existing OS for smartphones does not offer good experience with phones having low bill-of-materials. However, with Ubuntu, even entry level phones get a sharper interface which is more responsive and easier to use.

Ubuntu does not require the use of a Java virtual machine. This significantly improves the performance of native apps and enables the use of hardware capabilities to the full extend. Ubuntu also provides support for web applications for portable application development. This targets all platforms including Android, iOS, Windows Phone and Ubuntu.

Ubuntu is very popular especially in security-conscious enterprises. Ubuntu for high-end smartphones serve to provide this very capability, converting it into a ‘Superphone’ that will act as a secure PC. When docked with keyboard, monitor and mouse, the smartphone running on Ubuntu OS turns into a desktop enabling the use of Ubuntu management tools.

Characteristics of Ubuntu OS for smartphones

Ubuntu provides a cleaner interface for most apps, with room for lot of content. It makes efficient use of the space on the smartphone screen offering fast access and switching between apps. Ubuntu requires Cortex A9 dual core processor clocked at 1 GHz as well as a 512 MB RAM to run. The OS will be supported in low-end phones that are released in 2013.

Ubuntu offers the following advantages over the existing OS for smartphones.

• Competitive alternative to existing OS
• Relationships with OEMs who incorporate Ubuntu in PCs
• Already existing app ecosystem and developer community
• Great performance in entry level and high-end phones
• Customization possible for OEM and operators
• Converging desktop, phone and thin client on a single high-end smartphone

Differences of Ubuntu phone OS from other market players

Several features of Ubuntu phone OS gives it an edge over the existing phone OS such as iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

• Ubuntu offers an elegant, distinctive, sophisticated but very natural-looking interface for displaying the content. This is an advantage over Windows which has over-simplified style and iOS which has glossy and photo-realistic icons.
• Ubuntu is a complete PC OS. Due to the late entry of the phone OS into the market it can run a complete PC environment. This is unlike Android, which was initially meant for older PCs and hence has limitations. Ubuntu has the ability to use all CPU cores.

Since Ubuntu is an open OS, manufacturers who ship Android phones will find Ubuntu more appealing than Windows Phone.

Ubuntu’s popularity among developers

Catering to both entry-level phones and high-end phones, Ubuntu is expected to have a strong presence in emerging markets. Ubuntu already has a good base with mobile developers, which ensures positive prospects for the OS to be a hit with them

• Majority of Android developers develop mobile apps using Ubuntu
• Ubuntu will provide Firefox and Chromium browsers along with HTML 5 and other first class web apps. This will be attractive to developers targeting cross-platform audiences.
• Game engines support Ubuntu since the OS provides native access to GPU functions
• Native app developers also make use of SDK for Ubuntu OS for creating well-performing applications.

Ubuntu smartphones are expected to be launched globally at competitive prices, with the initial launch expected to be in Western Europe, late 2013.

Ubuntu’s interface for smartphones is the result of pushing for an OS that is supported on all devices and one that will offer the full advantages of a desktop. Ubuntu OS for smartphones improves the performance of low-end phones and provides high-end smartphones the capability to act like a PC. Ubuntu phone OS will be an excellent alternative to existing phone operating systems due to its many advantages and popularity with developers.

Author information

imira

A research and content development firm based in India providing solutions for various corporate firms, academic institutions and online portals.