The first smartphone to be powered by the open source Ubuntu operating system will be available to buy in October this year, according to the founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the platform.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Mark Shuttleworth said the first devices will initially be available in two large geographic markets and that app developers will have access to the OS later this month.

Ubuntu is a Linux-based OS used to run servers and other IT infrastructure. So far, it has been demonstrated on Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus device. It seems to be targeting a similar market to Mozilla’s Firefox OS.

A unique feature of the OS, according to Shuttleworth, is that devices using it will be able to support Windows-based applications streamed from corporate servers.

According to reports, Canonical does not plan to build an app store to support the launch of Ubuntu-based handsets.

Mobile World Live recently published a video feature revealing how the Ubuntu mobile OS will look on a smartphone; check it out here.