Canonicals’ recent blog post on an – exclusive concept design- just days before the start of CES 2012 has set the open source community abuzz, with speculation, if the concept will be that of a tablet or a Smartphone.
Last week Canonicals’ John Bernard, posted that Canonical will participate at Consumer Electronic Show, the premier annual electronic show to be held between 10 Jan and 13 Jan 2012, at Las Vegas Convention Center. Lined up for the launch is latest Ubuntu Desktop, Cloud, Ubuntu One and a suggestive phrase ‘exclusive Ubuntu Concept design’ that is to be announced during the show.
This has triggered several rounds of speculation on what the design Concept would be- Smartphone, TV gadget or a Tablet. The reasons for this are the phased build Ubuntu has adopted in the last one year.
First, was the Unity desktop environment to offer an interface user experience similar to mobile devices. It is today offered as the default interface on Ubuntu Linux distribution. Secondly, Canonical’s recent announcement that it hopes to take Ubuntu from desktop to TV, Smartphone and tablets.
Though it was expected that such devices would launch only by 2014, early prototype now available indicate that there is a possibility that it could well be the concept to be launched at CES this week. In fact, Mark Shuttleworth, Canonical founder has stated that hardware makers are already part of the process.
While rumors have tried to link LG, the electronics giant as one of the hardware manufacturers, Canonical representatives have consistently denied it.
Android App – The Official CES 2012 App
However, with just a few hours left for the speculation to end, probably the best way to get to the true possibility first could be through an App. Called the Official CES 2012 app, it is now available on the Android Market .
Owned by Consumer Electronics Association, the App has some very simple and basic functionality. Links to exhibitors, keynote events and breaking news will be available in real time. It in fact allows you to personalize your news from the event as well as choose alerts and maps to help you reach your favorite electronics makers.
Apparently, exhibitors will also run their Special Offers to run through the App and will help you optimize your experience at the CES.
Probably, the highlight of the app is an ‘exhibitors’ link. The App will allow you to access products by their types as indexing are done on vendor basis. It will also provide contact information of each vendor at the CES.
Though, this is the same app that ran the CES 2011, it has a host of tweaks that optimize your CES 2012 experience. Importantly, the app is available for the entire iDevice family as well.
Download the App and be the first to know which Exclusive Design Concept Ubuntu will launch at CES 2012.
