Mobile client (for Android for example)

[Patrick Cornelissen]

It would be really neat if I could access the ubuntu one files with my android phone via a dedicated client software (the webfrontent is not great for these small devices). But it shouldn't be a pure sync client, because many smartphones have limited "disk" space, so syncing of individual files or just a download/upload option would be necessary.

[Matt Griffin (mattgriffin)]

Thanks for this message. We'll add it to our wishlist.

[Yves Glodt (yglodt)]

More wishes for this not-yet existing app:

- Let the user choose where to place the synced folder on the device (e.g. sd-card or internal memory)
- Sync only on active wlan
- Sync only selected folders
- Sync selectable "system"-folders as well, e.g. the Pictures folder
- ...

[William Stone III (wrs)]

Well, as long as we're posting wish-lists for wish-ware, here's my list in more or less the order that would be most profitable for the service:

1. It's going to need a file manager. No question, there's just nothing like Nautilus on the Android, and it needs it bad. Obviously, file-syncing requires being able to manipulate files. Don't scrimp on this, because a good file manager will bring users to the service.

2. Two or three modes, basic to advanced. Basic mode walks the user through adding files, advanced lets the user specify everything.

3. Ability to simply mount UbuntuONE into the device filesystem rather than actually synchronizing files.

4. Hooks into the API. For example, when I select a video on my Droid and "share" it, I'm invited to send it to YouTube or qik.com by virtue of the apps installed on my device. An UbuntuONE client should also hook into this -- for any file type. If there's a button for "Share", "UbuntuONE" should be an option.

5. Handheld-specific features:
     1. Geo-tag the file being synced to the user's location as gleaned by the GPS and include this in file meta-data if possible.
     2. Special mode that allows backup/restore of the entire device to UbuntuONE. The app should (within Android design limitations) back up every important file on the device. A dead device should mean a replacement, download the UbuntuONE client, and pull down everything necessary to have your device identical to where it was before it died.

[Juha Siltala (topyli)]

While a mobile client would have great potential (once created for all relevant platforms such as Android, iPhone, Symbian, Windows), I would recommend first concentrating on a good mobile web frontend as requested in bug 453509.

That said, I would certainly love to natively sync my smartphone with Ubuntu One. :)

[yeus (thomas-meschede-deactivatedaccount)]

yeah ! +1 vote for a ubuntu one sync with my android phone :)

[Matt Griffin (mattgriffin)]

Thanks for all the great feedback. What would make this more useful for us is to create separate bugs for your feature requests. Since this bug is about creating a mobile client for android, I'm afraid your other ideas in the comments might get overlooked.

It's also helpful to review the blueprints from the most recent UDS where you'll find that we're working on some of these ideas already (like syncing only selected folders for each computer and enabling you to sync folders outside ~/Ubuntu One). Searching for "Ubuntu One" will help you find these specs. I think they also contain the word 'desktop' in the title.
https://blueprints.launchpad.net/sprints/uds-l

Thanks!

[xtrip (xtrip)]

Hi,

+1 !

It will be very usefull that an real ubuntuone client exist for androïd !

- Sync adressbook for no fear of the big contacts lost nightmare !
- Wifi detection is a very good idea too for small subscriptions.

Thanks for your great works.

xtrip

[Alvaro Gil (alvaro-alvarogil)]

Simply mounting the Ubununtu One shared folder on the SD card would be awesome. There are file browser like Astro that are excellent so a new one is not needed.

I just need to be able to share folders and music between my desktop and my phone transparently. That would make Ubuntu the greatest OS ever.

[Michał Karnicki (karni)]

This is by far the greatest wishlist item I've seen lately at LP. I truly hope I will be able to contribute in this area really soon.

[zedvaint (zedvaint)]

I agree. Some form of sync or at least a web frontend for mobile phones would be fantastic, especially for notes with Tomboy.

[Michał Karnicki (karni)]

Hi all ! You are more then welcome to visit https://wiki.ubuntu.com/specs/UbuntuOneForAndroid . I'm waiting for your ideas! You can add your ideas here at LP or edit the `Comments and feature requests` section, please. Thanks and take care!

[mrklister (anders-steiner)]

This is why I and probably many others choose drop box instead.

[Michał Karnicki (karni)]

I have set up https://launchpad.net/androidu1 just recently. Project is at a very early stage, yet.

[Michał Karnicki (karni)]

I'm taking the honor to mark this as fixed \o/ This is not equivalent of me claiming that we're done :)
There's tons of features we can add and improve. Go ahead and give it a spin :)

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.ubuntuone.android.files

FYI To avoid one particular question - a fix to filter photo auto-upload only from under /sdcard/DCIM is awaiting review, and will land in version 1.0.2. Your feedback is always appreciated!