Dell and Canonical Are Delivering Ubuntu PCs in India, Expanding in China

Canonical and giant PC maker Dell Computer have already found new horizons for Ubuntu in China. In a post on Canonical's blog late last year, it was announced that Canonical and Dell would bring PCs loaded with Ubuntu to the Chinese market. The two companies have steadily partnered on that effort, and now they are pusing Ubuntu-based PCs into India. Jane Silber, Canonical CEO, has discussed the companies' plans to bring Ubuntu systems to 850 retail outlets in India.

Canonical continues to pursue an interesting global strategy for seeding markets for Ubuntu-based computers. The company has an existing deal with Asus in Portugal, delivering PCs preloaded with Ubuntu there, and Canonical's deal with Dell in China is going strong. In fact, Canonical has just announced that it is expanding its Chinese program with Dell from 220 to 350 retail outlets--a significant expansion.

According to Canonical, Dell will deliver Inspiron 14R and Inspiron 15R systems with Ubuntu pre-installed starting June 21, and then further hardware announcements will follow.

“A founding principle of Ubuntu is to make computing more accessible,” said Canonical’s CEO, Jane Silber at the Dell Women’s Entrepreneur Network' event in New Delhi. “By working with Dell to bring these machines to market, we’re providing millions of people with the opportunity of an affordable, high-quality computing experience - in some cases, for the first time.”

Sameer Garde, President, Dell India said: “With Ubuntu, these machines offer our customers a compelling mobile or in-home computing proposition, with the benefit of Dell quality and security. I am confident that they will prove attractive to both home and business users.”

The Indian retail outlets will display Ubuntu-branded marketing collateral in-store, with trained staff explaining Ubuntu to consumers, according to a statement from Canonical.