Tech Distro

"Ubuntu OS smartphones to be available starting October: Report"

The year 2013 seems to be a year of new operating systems. Earlier we saw BlackBerry make a big splash with their new BlackBerry 10 operating system. There are news reports floating that ZTE will be launching a Firefox OS-based smartphone at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013. Mozilla has already unveiled Firefox OS-based Keon and Peak smartphones for the developers and ZTE looks set to be the first company to bring these devices to the consumers.
Ubuntu operating system seems to be the other operating system that will be joining the league. It is expected that smartphones based on Ubuntu operating system will be available to the customers by October 2013. This information was given by Mark Shuttleworth, who is the Founder and CEO of Canonical Ltd. Canonical (that provides services for corporate customers using Ubuntu operating system) in an interview with Wall Street Journal. He further stated that the smartphones will be available in "two large geographic markets in October," without clearly disclosing which these two markets will be.

Ubuntu OS is an open source operating system, which is based on the Debian Linux distribution and seeks to offer consumers a unified experience on TVs, phones and PCs. This operating system for smartphones became official for smartphone in January 2013. As per The Wall Street Journal this operating system will be available to the developers starting February 2013. The developers will be getting a Galaxy Nexus smartphone, which will be running on Ubuntu operating system.

As Ubuntu OS can support both ARM and x86 processors, it can run on most Android-based smartphones that are currently available in the market. As of now there is no formal word on which smartphones will be officially running on Ubuntu OS and what will be their pricing.

Apart from Ubuntu OS, the other smartphones that are expected to see the light of the day this year are Sailfish operating system, which is being developed by ex-Nokia employees and Tizen.

These new operating system will be competing head on with the existing iOS, Android and Windows Phone 8. It will be interesting to see if they are able to make a dent in their dominance or will they go the WebOS way.

Happy Birthday .........

'Internet to contribute $100 billion to India's GDP by 2015'

Internet services and devices industry has potential to increase its contribution to up to USD 100 billion (about Rs. 5.5 lakh crore) to India's GDP and generate about 2.2 crore jobs by 2015, a report by McKinsey & Company said on Wednesday.
Internet related technology industry includes personal computers and smartphone sales, e-commerce, broadband subscription, and investment in technologies like cloud and websites.

According to the report titled 'Online and Upcoming: The Internet's Impact on India', Internet generated 1.6 percent of the GDP or about USD 30 billion in 2011.

"The Internet currently contributes a modest 1.6 percent to India's GDP. This could grow to 2.8 to 3.3 percent by 2015, if India achieves its potential for growth in the number of Internet users and Internet technology-related consumption and investment," McKinsey & Company Partner Chandra Gnasambandam told reporters New Delhi.

This would increase Internet's contribution to GDP from USD 30 billion now to nearly USD 100 billion in 2015, he said.

"And while it facilitates about six million direct and indirect jobs at present, this could grow to 22 million by 2015, if India follows an inclusive path of Internet expansion." Gnasambandam said.

India with a user base of 120 million is the world's third largest Internet market and is poised to garner up to 370 million users in 2015, the report said.

China has the world's largest Internet user base with 480 million users, followed by US (245 million) in 2011.

By 2015, China is expected to have 583 million users, while the US is expected to have 279 million users.

The global Internet user base is expected to grow from 2,300 million users in 2011 to 2,662 million by 2015, the report said.

"Given current downward trends in the cost of Internet access and mobile devices, India is on the verge of an Internet boom. India is likely to have the second largest user base in the world and largest in terms of incremental growth," McKinsey & Company Global Institute Senior Fellow Anu Madgavkar said.

At present, India's information and communication technology (ICT) exports are the most significant component of the Internet's impact on GDP, but private consumption and investment from private and public sector have great potential to grow in the future, she added.

Madgavkar, however, added that the impact of Internet in India is constrained by the current infrastructure.