By Joab Jackson, IDG News Service
February 21, 2012 01:50 PM ET

Canonical did not mention any handset manufacturers or carriers who are testing the technology, but the company plans to have the software embedded in some Android phones by the end of 2012. The code is available for end users, though it will require a fair amount of expertise to install it. So the company is focusing its efforts on enticing handset manufacturers and carriers to pre-install the software on their high-end phones.

Shuttleworth admitted that the company still needs to finish some vital elements of the software. Security, for instance, “hasn’t been a particular focus for us yet,” he said. But because programs have already been written for Linux that offer security features such as full disk encryption and process monitoring, the work to bring full security to this setup should not be a huge challenge, he argued.

Joab Jackson covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for
Canonical did not mention any handset manufacturers or carriers who are testing the technology, but the company plans to have the software embedded in some Android phones by the end of 2012. The code is available for end users, though it will require a fair amount of expertise to install it. So the company is focusing its efforts on enticing handset manufacturers and carriers to pre-install the software on their high-end phones.

Shuttleworth admitted that the company still needs to finish some vital elements of the software. Security, for instance, “hasn’t been a particular focus for us yet,” he said. But because programs have already been written for Linux that offer security features such as full disk encryption and process monitoring, the work to bring full security to this setup should not be a huge challenge, he argued.