Ubuntu’s shift onto tablets and mobiles is now afoot, as a new video demoing Ubuntu on a Nexus 7 shows.

Ubuntu 13.04 onwards will see Canonical devote time and resources to measuring the ‘core platform’ against ‘mobile metrics’ like battery life, memory consumption, etc.

With more and more of the PC space giving way to portable touch devices (something Microsoft are playing catch-up with in Windows 8) it’s inevitable that Ubuntu seek reward down this road. Partiualrly crucial, in fact, for a company with a planned multi-device strategy.

By placing emphasis on mobile performance during the next few cycles, Ubuntu desktop stands to benefit.

Mark Shuttleworth, in announcing the name of Ubuntu 13.04, asked developers attending next weeks Ubuntu Developer Summit in Copenhagen Denmark, to bring along their Nexus 7’s – this device, he says, makes for an ideal ‘reference’.

Commercial Engineering Director at Canonical, Victor Palau, has posted a short video of Ubuntu running on a Nexus 7 already.

How did Ubuntu get on the device? The how-to will, apparently, be revealed at UDS next week.