First Ubuntu Tablet Goes on Sale

A little more than a year after the first Ubuntu-powered smartphone went on sale, BQ is now taking pre-orders for the world's first Ubuntu-powered tablet.

Called the Aquaris M10, it's available for European customers to pre-order now starting at 249 euros ($278), and will start shipping the second week in April, according to its product page.

With a 10.1-inch display, 16GB of memory, 2GB of RAM, and a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, it's got fairly ordinary specs for a midrange tablet. The only configurable option is a step up to a Full HD display, which will raise the Aquarius M10's price by 40 euros ($45). There's no mention of plans to sell the tablet in the US.

In a world of Apple- and Android-dominated mobile devices, with their immense app ecosystems and wide range of price points, it would be easy to write this off as just a tablet for enterprise IT customers (though even many are springing for iPads). That's because middling specs and a price that doesn't quite qualify as a bargain probably won't attract the attention of budget-conscious consumers, who would typically be the other target for a Linux-powered device.

But Canonical, which makes the M10's Ubuntu operating system, has something else up its sleeve. The company is billing the new tablet as a convergence device, a tablet when you're on the go and a desktop PC when you're at home. To enter PC mode, you connect a mouse and keyboard for a full-featured version of the Ubuntu operating system at your disposal.

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It's not a new concept; Microsoft has been working on its Continuum feature for more than a year. Having a Linux alternative is certainly a welcome development, but the success of the Aquaris M10 will depend to a large degree on how many app developers are willing to take advantage of its convergence features.

Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified the name of the tablet. It is the Aquaris, not the Aquarius.