As I understand it Canonical are in discussions with manufacturers so you shouldn't have to root an Android phone and install it yourself.

I think they said the ETA for devices was either Q3 or Q4 2013.

I was also pondering which I'd go for next; Android, Sailfish, Firefox OS or Tizen. I was favouring Tizen until the Ubuntu announcement yesterday. For me the big selling point is when you dock your Ubuntu phone you'll get a full Ubuntu desktop.

This is really what I've been waiting for.

Also Ubuntu apps are to be created with Qt/QML which I think gives you more flexibility. Personally I like scripting, I would do as much as possible in JavaScript (I actually wish QML was the new standard for the interweb rather than HTML5) but it's great knowing if there's a bottleneck you can drop into C++ to alleviate it. However if you're preference is for creating compiled apps Qt has that covered too.

Your apps can run in phone or desktop mode, you just have to take into account the screen estate. Canonical have tried to help in that regard by allowing you to define the layout of your interface in 'grid units'.

For me Ubuntu is now the front runner by a country mile, I hope they can get a few quality manufacturers on board.