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Ubuntu Touch beats Firefox OS to win best of MWC from CNET

Our team judges Canonical's new mobile OS to be the most exciting thing at Mobile World Congress, with Mozilla's software as runner-up.

Jason Jenkins Director of content / EMEA
Jason Jenkins is the director of content for CNET in EMEA. Based in London, he has been writing about technology since 1999 and was once thrown out of Regent's Park for testing the UK's first Segway.
Jason Jenkins
2 min read
Ubuntu Touch has won the best of Mobile World Congress award from CNET Sarah Tew/CNET

BARCELONA, Spain--We've seen lots of interesting hardware at Mobile World Congress, and yesterday when the team met to talk about what product should get our best of show award, there were plenty of gadgets in the mix. Asus' Padfone Infinity was in the running, along with its FonePad, the Nokia Lumia 720, and Sony's Xperia Z tablet.

But the nine-strong judging team from our San Francisco, New York, and London offices quickly discounted those products. We were much more interested in the product category that has arguably generated more buzz at MWC and is potentially much more disruptive: new mobile operating systems.

The two we zeroed in on, Mozilla's Firefox OS and Canonical's Ubuntu Touch, were hotly debated. Lots was said about the impressive number of carriers and manufacturers Firefox OS has lined up behind it. But once put to a vote, Ubuntu Touch was the clear winner, with Firefox OS the runner-up.

The team thought that Ubuntu Touch, the tablet version of which we got our hands-on for the first time at MWC, feels more like the complete package at this point. We liked its slick, elegant interface that makes use of every side of the screen and puts your content and contacts front and center, minimizing the time spent hopping back to a home screen.

Ubuntu Touch for phones and tablets looks great (hands-on pictures)

See all photos

Take a look at our hands-on video and picture galleries on this page to see what all the fuss is about, and read our First Takes of both Ubuntu Touch and Firefox OS for more details on both.

Watch this: Ubuntu Touch is a touch of class