Ubuntu targets netbook market

Ubuntu targets netbook market

By John Lister

The firm which produces the chips in most smartphones will use a Linux system when it enters the netbook market. ARM has announced a deal to use Ubuntu, one of the most popular versions of the open source operating system.

ARM announced last month that it would begin producing netbooks, a type of portable computer slimmed down (both physically and technologically) to allow basic operations such as internet surfing in a budget-priced machine.

The firm has now teamed up with Canonical, the firm which produces Ubuntu, to use the system on the netbooks. A special edition of Ubuntu targeted at netbooks has been in the works since June.

The ARM netbooks are scheduled for release in April 2009. Though not officially confirmed, there’s a good chance this is to coincide with the launch of the next edition of Ubuntu. One of the main aims of the new edition is to cut down the time it takes for a computer to get up and running, so that would be a particularly good fit for portable computers.

Ubuntu certainly makes sense for netbooks: the machines are unlikely to be running any of the more intensive applications (such as Photoshop) which can cause problems for Linux users. And there’s a strong argument that the fewer tasks a computer needs to run (such as with a netbook user mainly for internet surfing), the less likely the user is to worry, or even notice, what operating system is running.

Of course, there will always be problems with new users finding Linux systems unfamiliar and off-putting, but Ubuntu is arguably the most friendly system for people used to Windows. Indeed, it’s even mainstream enough to get on the shelves of Best Buy.

Most of all, though, a Linux netbook has a price advantage. While Apple appears to have ruled itself out of the netbook market (other than promoting the iPhone as an option), Microsoft is keen to stress that Windows 7 will be a practical option for netbooks. Cutting out the need for a Windows license takes away a much bigger chunk of the manufacturing costs with lower-priced netbooks than it does with either full-fledged laptops or desktop machines.