Tech Tuesday: Ubuntu Smartphones & Slingshot water treatment device

This week on News 1130 radio in Vancouver, I talked about these items:

• Ubuntu based smartphones are coming: Later this year, a new smartphone platform is expected to debut. Smartphones running on the Linux based Ubuntu operating system will be available. Basically a desktop computer in a handheld form factor, you’ll be able to dock the phone with a desktop monitor and keyboard and use it like a full size computer. No pricing or other details have been released yet.
• Slingshot water treatment device: Dean Kamen, the inventor of the Segway and the portable dialysis machine is back with another invention he’s been refining for the past decade. The 300lb Slingshot is about the size of a dorm room refrigerator, can take any kind of sewage or even salt water and create 200 to 250 gallons a day of clean water. Kamen hopes to start distributing the devices later this year in developing countries where clean water is most needed.