Canonical and Lenovo to Start Shipping Ubuntu-Powered Laptops in India

Canonical has numerous hardware partners around the world, and Lenovo is one of them. The two companies are now planning to release devices with Ubuntu Linux preloaded in India, starting with the Thinkpad L450 laptop.

Ubuntu is already present in India, but not via Lenovo. That is about to change right now, as more companies start noticing that Ubuntu is an OS that can rival with Windows and is sometimes even a selling point. It's also worth pointing out that the Linux community in India is huge, which makes it an ideal market for laptops that ship with Ubuntu by default.

The whole thing is going to start with only one device, the Thinkpad L450, which quite surprisingly is not something cheap, as it falls more in the mainstream category.

By default, it comes with an Intel Core i3-5005U CPU, a 14.0" anti-glare & WWAN-ready display, Intel HD Graphics 5500, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB HDD and Intel AC/B/G/N Dual Band WiFi. Also, the laptop comes with a 6-cell 48Wh battery rated for 7.7 hours of usage.

Thinkpad L450 with Ubuntu is just the beginning

It's very likely that we'll get to see even more Ubuntu laptops from Lenovo in the coming months, and there is still a lot of room for cheaper and more expensive models. The one described above is just the base model, but it can be upgraded with a better CPU or more memory.

"This marks another milestone in the global adoption of Ubuntu, and is the first joint launch between Lenovo and Canonical in India – another OEM coming into the fold in a region where Ubuntu already possesses a strong foothold," reads the announcement from Canonical (enclosed below).

Lenovo is not messing around and it will use Ubuntu 14.04 LTS, an operating system that works very well with hiDPI displays and is supported until 2019.

The new laptop lands in retail stores July this year and it will cost about $630 (INR 40,000). The complete specifications of the base model are included below.