Nexus S Runs Ubuntu; Linux Replaces...Linux

[Photo: stroughtonsmith on XDA-Developers]

It seems like hackers who install the Android operating system on everything decided to mix it up a bit. The folks over at XDA Developers have successfully ported Ubuntu HD2 version 0.3 to the Samsung Nexus S phone. You read that correctly: They replaced a Linux-based OS (Android) with a Linux-based OS (Ubuntu).

So far the touchscreen isn’t working, and judging by the post about the HD2 running Ubuntu (the same method is used on the Nexus S itself) I’m not sure if audio for calls works either. But, apparently, the OS runs. The Nexus S post is relatively new with few posts on it, so I’ll have to wait and watch for developments.

The good news is it won’t touch your existing filesystem, so once the touchscreen works (and I can verify Wi-Fi/3G connectivity), it’s probably something that I’ll flash onto my own Nexus S to check out. I run Ubuntu Linux at home for work on both my desktop and laptop, I think it would be the coolest thing in the world to run it on my phone as well.

What do you think? Would you install this on your smartphone? As I’ve referenced before, Google is fine with you tinkering. Why not give it a go?

[XDA Developers via OMG! Ubuntu!]

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