Maru OS
There are several attempts at turning a mobile phone into a viable computer. Ubuntu Convergence and Mircosoft’s Continuum are the main ones in this field, but not the only. Maru OS is taking the idea in a different direction.
Its common knowledge now that your average mobile phone has as much power as a standard desktop PC from between 2000 and 2010. If leveraged right, they can replace PC’ and laptops for most people, but only if it works as a laptop or desktop.
Convergence
Ubuntu’s take is an operating system designed to morph its interface depending on the screen size. If you view on the mobile screen, you get a mobile UI, hook it to a monitor and you get the more recognisable desktop Unity interface, more precise Unity 8. And being able to run standard linux software across all.
Continuum
This is slighly different, it does change the display of applications depending on the screen, but is still clearly Windows Mobile. Its also unsure what sort of desktop software will be available as it does not seem to be the actual Windows 10. Its touted that you can only use select ???universal??? applications.
Maru OS is different, but yes, if you hook it up to a monitor with a mouse and keyboard, you get a full desktop experience, but its not a morphed OS.
Instead Maru OS runs an almost vanilla Android 5.1, but when a monitor is found it uses the chroot similar method of booting a full desktop linux distro whilst still running android. This means that while your phone is in desktop mode, its still a phone and can be used as such.
The specific linux version it boots up is not clear at the moment, but with the usage of .deb packages it would be safe to assume that its Debian based.
???Maru packs a complete desktop experience on your smartphone. Your phone runs independently of your desktop so you can take a call and work on your big screen at the same time. Personal computing couldn’t be simpler.??? – Maru OS