(Telecompaper) Canonical announced it has signed agreements with mobile device manufacturers bq and Meizu to bring Ubuntu smartphones to the market. The company aims to ship the first Ubuntu devices this year. Devices will be available to buy online through bq, Meizu and at Ubuntu.com. Based in Spain, b1 shipped almost 1.5 million phones last year. Meizu is a Chinese manufacturer that recently started expanding to international markets. It plans to launch its phones in the US later this year. Canonical has also received support from carriers, some of which intend to work with OEMs to bring phones running Ubuntu to market this year. To date, Ubuntu's Carrier Advisory Group has 16 members including Vodafone, EE, T-Mobile USA, 3 Group, Deutsche Telekom, Verizon, Telstra and Portugal Telecom.