Samsung is giving its home-grown Tizen OS another shot, with the first batch of smartphones powered by the new OS promised as early as November.
Samsung, the world's largest smartphone maker, in a bid to reduce dependence on Google's dominating Android OS, has been promising long that its new line of smartphones will carry the homegrown Tizen OS. The company attempted to launch Tizen-based smartphones twice this year, but to no avail. However, it seems a third attempt might be successful, and Samsung has announced that it will launch a Tizen smartphone this November.
The news of a new Tizen phone came after India's Economic Times interviewed head of Samsung's Media Solution Center of Southwest Asia, Tarun Malik, Thursday. According to Malik, Samsung's new smartphone based on Tizen will co-exist with its Android offerings. The tech giant is mainly targeting India as its potential market for Tizen smartphones.
Along with Google's Android, Tizen will also have to compete against Apple's ever-popular iOS platform and Microsoft's Windows Phone. Earlier this week, Google also launched the first batch of Android One smartphones in India to attract budget-conscious consumers with attractive price tags. The web giant partnered with local smartphone makers like Micromax, Karbonn and Spice for Android One phones.
Despite the tough competition, Samsung is confident that its Tizen OS will constantly move forward. "We started late, but we are very focused," Malik told Economic Times. "We are not shooting in the wild. This is a game that has to be led by the device manufacturer," and not the mobile operators.
Samsung took the wraps off its first Tizen-based phone with a promise to release the Samsung Z in Russia during the third quarter. In July, during a developers' conference for Tizen, Samsung cancelled the planned release of the device citing some improvements to the operating system.
The latest interview with Malik did not reveal any specific details on the price or specs of the Tizen phone. More details will likely surface in November, when the company plans to finally launch the handset.
