Running a desktop on your smarthphone may not seem all that ractical, but many of us have found ourselves in situation where we urgently need to work and play at the same time. Call it millenial angst. The introduction of Samsung Dex as a feature of the Samsung Galaxy S8 serves to prove just how big this market has become.
Meanwhile, the demand for tablet computers has been slowing down over the past fe years. Whether this is because the need for a hybrid device is obsolete or how powerful our smartphones have become further proves the point. Android runs as open and as flexible as anymobile oeprating system can today. You have a plethora of ways in which you may get a desktop environment to run on your smartphone, including the option to install the full desktop version of Ubuntu.
Assuming you require an installation for a Debian distribution package, you can simply download the application Debian No Root application onto your device which will install a compatibility layer allowing you to run a type of Debian named 'Jessie'. It’s packed with many features like a terminal, that allows you to add additional software as you would on a desktop with the exact same commands.
However, if you fall out of compatibility range of any phone running up to Android 4.4, you will have to opt for rooting your device instead.
Should you successfully root your device, you may proceed with the following steps.
Install BusyBox
BusyBox will allow you to grant your phone access to Linux commands and makes root apps run more efficiently. It is a once off installation, so you can forget its there afterwards.
Install Linux Deploy
You will have to make sure that this application has root access so you can change the distribution package at will from the Options Menu. You Linux flavour will change accordingly, but should you require a Desktop environment overhaul, you will need to enable GUI, also in the Options Menu.
Set your username and password then you may click ‘Install’.
Install VNC Veiwer
You shall use VNC Viewer to veiw your GUI and changes to it. Once you load the application, set the address to ‘localhost:5900’ and enter the password you set in the previous step.
!["Screenshot]("__GHOST_URL__/content/images/2017/05/Screenshot_20170419-162201-840x472-1.png")
If your version of Linus is running at optimum, these steps above are all you require to get the software installed safely onto your device.
Head over to your terminal enter the following commands for each of the applications you might like.
Mozilla Firefox
sudo apt-get install iceweasel
LibreOffice
sudo apt-get install libreoffice
sudo apt-get install gimp
Software Center
sudo apt-get install software-center
So that you are able to download more applications. There are plenty to choose from.
Get into the habbit of regularly updating your software by running:
sudo-apt get update
This ensures your device is running at its best.
now you can get yorself a pair of wireless peripherals to enable the full desktop experience wherever you might need it.
Please share your experiences with running a desktop operating system on a mobile device in the space provided below!