Ubuntu and Intel ready to take tablets

The Ubuntu flavour of Linux could soon be coming to a mobile device near you as developers of the open source operating system are beginning to work on porting it to internet tablets.

Techies will be working on the new mobile operating system at the Ubuntu Developer Summit this week in Seville, following the creation of the Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project, which will take the OS into pastures new.

Those behind the project have revealed that the first iteration of the mobile OS will debut in October as Ubuntu 7.10.

Ubuntu CTO Mark Zimmerman revealed on the organisation's website how handheld devices will present new challenges to Linux developers: "It is clear that new types of device - small, handheld, graphical tablets which are internet-enabled - are going to change the way we communicate and collaborate. These devices place new demands on open source software and require innovative graphical interfaces, improved power management and better responsiveness."

He added the open source developers will be working alongside Intel for the latest variant of the OS. The company will be devoting "significant contributions of technology, people and expertise", he added.

Intel is not the latest big name to take an interest in Ubuntu. Last month, Dell announced it intends to offer desktop PCs running a version of the soon to be mobile open source OS.

While the Ubuntu mobile and embedded project won't be targeting mobile handsets at present, Linux is already making its mark as a smart phone operating system, alongside Microsoft's Windows Mobile and Symbian's OS.

Analysts believe more than 200 million mobile devices could run on Linux by 2012 and the OS has already received high profile support from the likes of Motorola and Palm.