Ubuntu Touch developers say usable version will be out by late May

The developers for Ubuntu Touch will make available a fairly usable version of the fledgling mobile operating system by the end of this month. The VP of Ubuntu Engineering, Rick Spencer, stated on his blog that the team behind Ubuntu Touch aim to develop the OS so you can use it on your smartphones on a day-to-day basis. 

Compatible devices will soon be able to run Ubuntu Touch

The functionalities Spencer and his team will implement include:

• Being able to make and receive phone calls
• Send and receive SMS messages
• Browse the web on 3G and Wi-Fi 
• Switch between Wi-Fi and 3G data. 
• Proximity sensor will dim the screen when you lift the phone to talk on it
• Support importing contacts from somewhere and let you add and edit contacts
• User data is retained when you update the phone, even if updating with phablet-flash

In Spencer’s own words, they plan to be able to “eat our own dog food” by the end of May. This means the Ubuntu Touch team will use the developed operating system as their regular phones to test, evaluate and gain insight into what the operating system may lack or need to improve. 

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The list above contains very basic functionality for a smartphone, and we don’t doubt for a moment that the developers have a long way to go before Ubuntu Touch is as useful as most of today’s mobile operating systems, but this is a good step forward nevertheless. It’s commonly known in the software development industry that “Eating your own dog food” or regularly using one’s own software provides plenty of insight and knowledge of what more can be done to improve it, and it’s great to see the Ubuntu Touch team jumping right in.