Custom rom allows use of Nexus 5 as desktop with Linux distro

The developer of Maru has released the first public release of its custom ROM for the Nexus 5 smartphone. With the firmware, the user runs Android on the phone, but a Linux distro will appear if the phone connects to a large screen and peripherals.

As a result, users can use their phone as hardware to run an entire desktop operating system. It would be possible to use all kinds of Linux compiled for ARM, but the developer chose Debian because he is familiar with it. Although the release is public, it is still an early version, emphasizes developer Preetam D’Souza. Installation on the Nexus 5 is done via a PC, in the same way as with other custom ROMs, according to the manual. The necessary zip files for Windows, Linux and OS X are on Github.

The custom ROM combines Android Lollipop with the Linux release, with both operating systems sharing connectivity such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and storage. As a result, captured photos are immediately available on the desktop, for example. For example, to connect to a monitor, users can use a SlimPort cable, while the phone can handle input from a keyboard and mouse via bluetooth.

The custom rom has been released for the Nexus 5 for the time being, but other devices have to follow. The first priority is Google’s Nexus devices. The developer will make Maru’s source code available under an open source license, he promised back in February.

It is not the first time such a system has been devised. Ubuntu has separate interfaces for desktop and mobile with Convergence for Ubuntu Touch, Microsoft does that with Continuum on recent Lumias and on Android Motorola did something similar five years ago with the Atrix, which users could convert into a netbook.