We already know Ubuntu Linux is set to arrive on mobile devices-- now Canonical reveals how the upcoming version of the OS will take on the tablet experience.
Able to run the same applications as the desktop version, tablet Ubuntu promises the best of both PC and mobile worlds with "side stage" multitasking allowing users to run phone and tablet apps side-by-side (for example a video playing on one side, a Twitter app on the other) on a single display.
Once connected to a keyboard and mouse Ubuntu tablets also provide a desktop experience complete with remote Windows access via VMware, Wyse, Microsoft and Citrix virtual desktop tools.
"Multi-tasking productivity meets elegance and rigorous security in our tablet experience," Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth says. "Our family of interfaces now scales across all screens, so your phone can provide tablet, PC and TV experiences when you dock it. That's unique to Ubuntu and it's the future of personal computing."
Making Ubuntu potentially more attractive to enterprise are an array security features-- full disk encryption, multiple secure user accounts and a standard management tool covering servers, PCs and mobile devices.
Canonical also promises it reach iOS and Android levels when it comes to apps-- Android and BlackBerry app ports should be "really easy" via Java interpreter, the Ubuntu QML is similar to the BlackBerry development environment and the OS runs HTML5 and JavaScript apps.
The first Ubuntu smartphone is apparently already in the works (through a yet unnamed "major player in the silicon industry") while the curious can download and install a preview SDK on Google's Nexus (4, 7 and 10) devices.
