While you're waiting for the first official Ubuntu phone to appear, you have an Android device to use in the meantime. Although the process of downloading data from your smartphone is easy, it usually requires a suitable USB cable and working with the Android filesystem.

Without a cable, you will find it awkward getting to the smartphone data, but the AirDroid app can help. This free app allows you to sync your phone files with your computer over the local network. And, because you can access the data through the browser, the app even works over external networks, independent of your operating system, provided your phone can log on to the network.

Ready for Take-Off

In the test, I used a Samsung Galaxy S running CyanogenMod 10, which corresponds to Android version 4.1. The screenshot function isn't available if you use the preinstalled Android, however, because it requires root privileges.

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