Ubuntu going mobile, but in what devices?

Ubuntu_logoOctober will bring not only the next Ubuntu desktop release, but a mobile version for handhelds as well. The new platform is a direct result of the recently announced Ubuntu Mobile and Embedded project and will dovetail with Intel’s mobile processor plans:

"Ubuntu programmers will develop a mobile version of their Debian-basedLinux operating system in collaboration with Intel Corp., which plans anew low-power processor and chipset architecture designed to allow fullInternet capability on mobile devices"

Based on their post title, Engadget’s coverage indicates that this is for smartphones, but I suspect they’re slightly off-base and that the plans are for Internet tablets or handhelds due to the Intel collaboration. It’s too early to tell just yet but remember that Intel sold their PDA and smartphone line to Marvell last year; then again, the lines continue to blur between traditional ‘smartphones’ and Internet-enabled handhelds. We already know that Intel is working on the MID Linux devices; the Ubuntu announcement has me thinking we’ll see even more OS choices in the handheld form-factor.

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