This article was published on June 2, 2015

BQ’s second Ubuntu OS handset arriving mid-June for just under €200


BQ’s second Ubuntu OS handset arriving mid-June for just under €200

If you’ve been eagerly anticipating the arrival of new hardware running Ubuntu’s multi-platform OS, then today is your lucky day.

BQ’s Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition is the second smartphone from the Spanish handset maker to use the open-source OS, with the first being the cunningly named BQ Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition back in February.

As before, the E5 HD Ubuntu Edition is based on existing BQ hardware but swaps out its Android OS for Canonical’s Ubuntu offering.

BQE5_HERO_Straight Group 1

Key specs include a 5-inch IPS (in-plane switching, for better viewing angles) 720p display, a quad-core processor, dual SIM slots, 1GB RAM and internal storage of 16GB. The rear camera is 13-megapixels and offers dual flash, while the front-facing snapper maxes out at 5-megapixels.

It’ll arrive unlocked in “mid-June” priced at €199.90 (~$220) across the whole of Europe, the company says. There’s no word on when it might make its way to US markets though.

The two companies said they were now working together on a “convergent device” for the future too.

We’ll be putting the Aquaris E5 HD Ubuntu Edition through its paces next week, so check back for our full review.

Read next: Shuttleworth says Ubuntu’s future is more exciting than space travel

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