Samsung plots Bada 2.0 for all Wave handsets

Samsung will upgrade all of the handsets in its Wave range with the second version of the Bada operating system, bringing new features such as near-field communication (NFC), multitasking and Wi-Fi Direct to the phones.

The official Samsung Bada Twitter account confirmed that the OS would be rolling out to older Wave devices from the fourth quarter of 2011. It will come pre-loaded on new Wave handsets such as the Galaxy Wave 3, Wave M and Wave Y.

"The 2.0 upgrade for Wave devices will be available from 4Q — starting Europe — in different countries gradually," Twitter user 'SamsungBada', said in a post on Friday.

In separate posts on Twitter, the account confirmed that the Bada 2.0 platform would be available for all Wave devices, including the Wave 723 and Wave 525, but that its performance could vary from handset to handset.

"I meant all Wave devices but 2.0 features could be different depends on device specification such as CPU, memory size, etc," 'SamsungBada' wrote.

The upgraded OS was announced on 30 August and as well as covering key smartphone staples, like multitasking, it will allow users to transfer files, photos or make mobile payments using NFC technology.

The OS also supports the Wi-Fi Direct standard which allows Wi-Fi-enabled devices to communicate directly, without the need to be connected via a hub.