Corona diaries - the ubports ubuntu touch experiment - part 1

Well strictly speaking I had been meaning to try this for ages, EVEN BEFORE Corona if you can believe it!

I have always had a soft spot for Linux/Ubuntu even though using the command line window is for me like trying to speak a foreign language that I don´t understand using a phrase book. I built a computer from old parts with my son as a project and we installed Ubuntu and he still uses it for school and other things and it even runs steam and various games. To be honest he´s still not totally happy with the gaming performance but it does work reliably, points of view and all that.

I have been intrigued for a longish time now about Ubuntu touch and the idea of having a mobile operating system that is wholly independent of apple and google. A few years back, Canonical launched a crowd funding project for a Ubuntu-powered mobile and I duly signed up and pledged to support it but unfortunately the project was abandoned or failed to meet the necessary targets. Ubuntu touch itself seemed to falter a while ago but work on the idea continued via ubports and when I heard about the release version UBports OTA 12 I thought it was time to give it a go.

Which device?

First of all I looked at the list of supported devices and decided to go for a Sony Xperia X which has good hardware and there should be quite a few still around. It is not a modular phone though so it all stands and falls on the whole device being in good condition.