Corporate News
By Reuters
In Summary
- Samsung Z would be the latest effort by the electronics giant to build momentum for Tizen, with its Gear 2 smartwatches also powered by the platform.
- Majority of Samsung's devices, including Galaxy S smartphones, use the Android operating system.
- Samsung declined to say how many apps are available for the operating system.
Samsung Electronics plans to launch the first
smartphone based on its Tizen operating system in the third quarter,
marking the company's latest bid to build up its own ecosystem and
reduce reliance on Google's Android.
The South Korean firm on Monday said the Samsung
Z, which comes with a 4.8 inch high-definition display and offers
features such as a fingerprint sensor, will be unveiled at the Tizen
Developer Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.
The phone will be available in Russia sometime in
the July-September period with other markets to follow, the firm said in
a statement without specifying which markets.
Samsung did not offer sales forecasts or how much
the phone will sell for, though an executive told Reuters in April that
the company is working on at least two models powered by Tizen and that
will be released "in a few countries where we can do well."
The Samsung Z would be the latest effort by the electronics giant to build momentum for Tizen, with its Gear 2 smartwatches also powered by the platform.
The majority of Samsung's mobile devices are based
on Google's Android platform. The push to develop its own operating
system is part of efforts to reduce dependence on the US firm, but
delays in product launches have undercut expectations.
The Samsung executive said in April he thinks
Tizen would have to account for up to 15 per cent of Samsung's total
smartphone shipments to be deemed a success.
"There is plenty of room and plenty of opportunity
for a strong third vendor; arguably if you can carve out 10 per cent of
a two billion units market in smartphones (by 2018), then that could be
an opportunity," said Rachel Lashford, Singapore-based analyst at
Canalys.
Many in the industry are still in the dark about
Tizen, however, so there are questions about Samsung's level of
commitment to the platform, Lashford said.
Analysts also say it will be difficult for Samsung
to lure enough developers to make the apps and services necessary to
mount a serious challenge to dominant platforms Android and iOS from
Apple Inc.
Samsung declined to say how many apps are available for the operating system.
"The market for Tizen won't be as big as Android
or Apple's iOS, so I think it will be a challenge for Samsung to build
up an ecosystem," said IM Investment analyst Lee Min-hee.
Tizen may be more useful as leverage in future negotiations with Google, Lee said
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