You carry a portable computer in your pocket. A convergence of sorts. But you don’t use it to its full potential. You can put a Full Linux OS on your Android Phone or Tablet and have a complete PC anywhere , anytime!
Reasons for putting Linux on your smartphone primarily point towards compatibility. Yes, the Play Store is filled to the brim with apps. but they are mostly casual. Linux Distributions have more ‘professional’ apps which are less play, more work. For example if you are editing Audio, Audacity is the best choice. But Android doesn’t have Audacity, so you may boot up Linux and install it.
Note: This DOES NOT replace android OS. It uses chroot method to run a virtual machine, i.e run the Linux OS inside Android. Even then it is fully functional. However. though it is fully functional, it will run slowly due to it running in a Virtual Machine, which has to divide up your Device’s already measly resources with the Android OS.
1. First root your device. You can find instructions on google by typing : ‘How to root <enterdevicename>’
DISCLAIMER: Be careful! It can void your warranty
2. Download and install the Complete Linux Installer, Terminal Emulator and Droid VNC Viewer from Google Play
3. Download the Linux images from here
You have the choice of Bodhi Linux, Arch Linux, Ubuntu, Backtrack, Slackware, Open Suse, Kali Linux and the ever popular Debian
Then you can choose between Core (only bare essentials, no apps), Small (lightweight versions of apps), Large(full-blown versions of apps). We recommend you choose Small or Core for a satisfying and smooth experience. Unless you have the absolute high-end device with trailblazing specs, don’t bother with the Large Version.
4. After download extract the archives to a folder named by the the name of the linux you downloaded( Yes I know it is confusing. Eg if you downloaded open suse, the folder name would be opensuse)
5. Start open linux installer , swipe right, then tap on ‘Launch’
6. Tap on configure and enable VNC
7. Tap on Start
8. Start Droid VNC Viewer , set IP Address to localhost and port number to 5900 and press Connect
9. If you did everything right , you will see a GUI. Voila!
Tips: Check if your devices has USB OTG.. If it does, then you can connect a USB keyboard and mouse using a USB OTG cable.
Happy exploring!
