First and foremost, the UI relies heavily on edge swipes instead of buttons -- much like Windows 8 on a tablet or indeed other mobile OS's like MeeGo, although here each swipe has its own Ubuntu-esque functions. Beyond that, the icons along the top have some interesting features.

As the rep took us through the demo, we were impressed with the speed and fluidity of the navigation. Despite running on a year-old phone, navigation was blazing fast. The UI is very clean and lovely to look at.

Ubuntu Mobile certainly appears interesting, and maybe it could shake up some of the mobile interface conventions we all take for granted. But even if it's the best OS ever, the lack of dedicated hardware until 2014 is going to make it a tough sell for a while.

Despite the fact that even a developer launch of Canonical’s Ubuntu Mobile is still likely a few months off, it’s already looking like a strong contender, and potentially one that could shake up a market that has had relatively few big earth-quaking changes over the past couple of years.

The OS wasn't quite as smooth to the touch as we were expecting 100 per cent of the time but, given it's currently in beta form, that's not such a big surprise.

Canonical had an early build of its Ubuntu Linux smartphone operating system at CES and we took a look. It has a clean and fast user interface, though its chances in the market are questionable.

For anyone who has become frustrated with both major operating systems, the streamlined and more intelligently designed, intuitive interface of Ubuntu for smartphones shows more attention to detail than either iOS or Android, though whether it's revolutionary enough to succeed is debatable.

For an operating system that doesn’t have its own hardware yet, Ubuntu is really impressive.

We have to note that native Ubuntu for smartphones is an entirely different platform and ecosystem than Ubuntu for Android. We here at TechnoBuffalo love to see new changes to OS’s, especially if they’re as beautifully designed as Ubuntu.