Canonical reveals the first two companies to make and sell the first Ubuntu-powered smartphones sometime during 2014-- Spanish mobile device maker bq and Chinese vendor Meizu.
“The mobile industry has long been looking for a viable alternative to those that reign today," Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth says. "Ubuntu puts the control back into the hands of our partners and presents an exciting platform for consumers, delivering an experience which departs from the tired app icon grid of Android and iOS and provides a fluid, content-rich experience for all.”
bq is actually the second biggest unlocked smartphone seller in Spain, with 2013 sales of around 1.5 million devices. Meanwhile Meizu is a fairly big presence in a number of territories, with 600 retail outlets and a presence in China, Hong Kong, Israel, Russia and Ukraine.
The Huawei Ascend Y530 looks like a regular budget smartphone, if one with an interesting take on Android-- users can choose between two versions of the OS, Emotion UI or "Simple Android Interface."
A successor to the 2013 
Reportedly a development codenamed "Normandy" dating from before the Nokia handset business acquisition, the device features a "forked" version of the Google OS, Amazon Kindle-style. This means it lacks a number of Google-developed features and the Google Play app store, instead using Nokia and Microsoft services such as Here mapping, MixRadio music streaming and a Nokia app store.
Currently aimed at the Indian market, the Slate6 and Slate7 are a duo of 6- and 7-inch voice-calling capable devices. They feature quad-core processors, front-facing stereo speakers, 1280x720 and 1280x800 respective display resolutions and run on Android, not webOS (that, if you recall,belongs to LG now).
