Ubuntu to tackle the tablet PC / smartphone market?

For those who don't know, Ubuntu is an increasingly popular operating system distributed as open source software/ freeware. Approximately 20 million global users are estimated to use the most favoured desktop Linux distribution. Ubuntu is sponsored by Canonical Ltd, a UK based company that is owned by South-African Mark Shuttleworth.

Mark Shuttleworth claimed at the recent Ubuntu Developer Summit that he was expecting to see the Ubuntu platform coming to select smartphone and tablet PC devices in the next 18 months. This isn't a surprise considering how popular the smartphone/tablet market is at the moment. Apparently the Ubuntu community have been building on the idea for quite some time now, what with the development of the Unity user-interface, which supports multi-touch input.

Suggestions that Unity and Ubuntu could even reach out as far as TV's, and specialist screens for all kinds of purposes (e.g. in your car!), have been proposed. The open-source factors that run hand in hand with Ubuntu would certainly create an appeal for developers, especially as it is clear computing is steering to all kinds of other devices, other than just the your desktop & laptop.