Canonical shows off a preview build of its upcoming Ubuntu Phone, which ports the popular Linux operating system for desktops to smartphones.
Seth Rosenblatt
Senior writer Seth Rosenblatt covered Google and security for CNET News, with occasional forays into tech and pop culture. Formerly a CNET Reviews senior editor for software, he has written about nearly every category of software and app available.
The Ubuntu Phone shares a lot with its Linux cousin Android, but it will have big differences, too.
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The Ubuntu home screen
The Ubuntu Phone hardware won't have a home button, and they made some changes to the home screen, too.
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You've got messages
We weren't able to get our hands on the phone itself, but a Canonical representative took us on a tour of it. This is what the incoming messages pane looks like.
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Photos on Ubuntu
The Pictures app offers a different take on displaying on-board images from Android or iOS.
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Switch apps from the edge
You can switch apps by swiping in from the edge. In fact, the Ubuntu phones will have all four edges "active," as in Windows 8.
