Ubuntu TV likely to hit Indian shores next year

Broadening the horizons of its open source operating system beyond the PC domain, Canonical recently ventured into the television division with Ubuntu TV. The company had unveiled the first Ubuntu TV at CES in Las Vegas this year. Ubuntu TV is likely to reach users around early next year. The device will be launched in India around the same time, said Jane Silber, chief executive officer, Canonical.

Silber said, “Ubuntu TV is about using the same Ubuntu core and underlying platform ( and similar Unity- based but not identical user experience) and bringing the same Ubuntu principles that we bring to the desktop to the TV. So the simplicity and the dynamics remain the same, which we think is needed in a smart TV. TVs are becoming computers these days. People now have computing power in their smart displays. I think we will see the same convergence that is happening in phones and desktops in the TVs too. People now download an operating system for their computers but, in future, they will do that for their TVs. We hope to see Ubuntu TVs shipping early next year. Ubuntu TVs should possibly ship in India around the same time as in other global markets.”