http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...tem&px=MTMwODg

So they are using Surface Flinger and not X.org or Wayland. I don't think it's a good development. Any thoughts?

See this post in topic "Ubuntu Phone, Tablet Developer Preview Released" in Phoronix Forum :
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- X11 is NOT used. They set the QT_QPA_PLATFORM environment variable to "ubuntu", which causes Qt5 to load /usr/lib/arm-linux-gnueabihf/qt5/plugins/platforms/libqubuntu.so. That particular library is linked against libGLESv2.so.2 from libhybris. So, with that said:
* Only Qt5 apps will run (or anything else patched to use libhybris)
* This allows them to use Android graphics drivers without modification
* Desktop Ubuntu will never use this.
=============================

So all the GUI softwares will be new, written in Qt5. No previous softwares in Gtk, WxWidgets, Qt4, etc.

So that leaves Sailfish and maybe Tizen as the only GNU/Linux systems for mobiles... what a disappointment from Canonical.

Components are one thing, and are important for few. The usability and users experience are what really matter to succeed. So swipe oses still haven't been accepted by many users.
Also hardware is more important for success. I don't really miss the somthing on the architectural level as long as the hardware and usability and performance are great.

Just to say this over and over again. Ubuntu for Phone isn't real Ubuntu on the inside. In fact, it doesn't even run natively there's some chroot magic there.

So "it runs" but compatibility is near zero.
At least with Mer/Jolla linux applications need less customization to run properly and when they do, they run natively. NATIVELY!!!
_______
(Its akin to a good console emulator vs a bad one.)
Example: Dreamcast emulator may be possible fullspeed with sound on a Quadcore A9 device. However, written in something like Dalvik, it will only run at around 5-20fps with frameskipping, sound disabled, and some/many graphical elements missing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MLLgs39EEM

These last couple of days have really ruined Ubuntu for phone in my view... I was really excited about it (it was the new OS "frontrunner" for me), even started looking into getting a Nexus, but now it's all just blehhh.

The n900 will do for now.

I'm not following Ubuntu development too closely, but:

Given their timeline (no Ubuntu phone before 2014, preview releases meant to run on existing Android hardware): How likely is it that this is not their final architecture but a compromise to get the current previews of their UI and Qt framework (which is probably what they care about most ATM) running on existing phones at all?

that only prove ubuntu is desperate, but to me this desperation is bad decission who will take.ubuntu serious if the os slower than android? not me atleast. However this is good news for jolla lets hope they use this to show the world what a real optomized most open os is about...

So they are using libhybris (created by Stskeeps by the way). Are they giving the due credit at least?

More articles and info about Ubuntu Touch (Phone & Tablet OS) :

- Ubuntu Touch Developer Preview - Porting Guide : shows that Android/CyanogenMod is used :
"For quick reference, these are the current components used from Android:
- Linux Kernel (stock Android kernel provided by the vendor, with a few changes to support some extra features needed by Ubuntu);
- OpenGL ES2.0 HAL and drivers;
- Audio/Media HAL and services, to re-use the hardware video decoders;
- RILD for modem support;
As Ubuntu is running in a separated container on top of an Android kernel and services, the communication between them happens via Binder, Sockets and libhybris."
So Ubuntu is run in chroot;

- "Benchmarking The Google Nexus With Ubuntu" from Phoronix : "With Ubuntu Touch using Google's SurfaceFlinger and not using an X11/X.Org Server (or Wayland), the usual Ubuntu graphics benchmarks won't work."

- "My Favorite Command For Ubuntu Touch/Tablet" from Phoronix : shows how to enter Ubuntu shell using "ubuntu_chroot shell" from adb or ssh. The repositories are "http://ports.ubuntu.com quantal/*" with many thousands packages;