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Topic: Samsung

Samsung's 'high-end' Tizen smartphone due in months

Summary: Samsung firms up Tizen release dates as mobile head says there's "lacklustre demand" for its Windows Phone 8 devices in Europe.

Liam Tung

By Liam Tung |

Samsung has confirmed it will release a Linux-based Tizen smartphone by September.

Samsung executive vice president of mobile Lee Young Hee told Bloomberg a Tizen smartphone "in the high end category" would be out in August or September.

The launch date may have slipped a little: Samsung was believed to be releasing a Tizen smartphone in July or August, ZDNet's sister site CNET reported last month, where Samsung showed off a reference model running the Linux-based alternative to its hugely successful Android flagships, the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note.

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For Samsung, Tizen offers an alternative to Android and another peg in its multi-platform strategy, which also includes fellow Linux OS Bada, which is merging with Tizen.

While Samsung controls the lion's share of both Android and smartphone shipments, Bada had a minor 1.3 percent share by OS in the most recent quarter, according to Gartner.

But Samsung's multi-OS efforts don't end there: the company has also built a Windows Phone 8 device, the Ativ. However, Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday he was seeing "lacklustre demand for Windows-based products" in Europe. Shin said Samsung had sold 50 million Galaxy S3s since launching the device. 

Meanwhile Japanese operator NTT Docomo has already committed to selling Samsung's Tizen phones, and more recently European carrier Orange confirmed it will sell Tizen devices from Samsung and Chinese network device maker, Huawei, which joined the Tizen Association in February.

The association's purpose is to foster an industry ecosystem around the open source platform and also includes Intel, Sprint, Vodafone, KT, SK Telecom, NEC, Panasonic and Fujitsu among its members.

Topics: Samsung, Android, Linux, Mobile OS

Liam Tung

About Liam Tung

Liam Tung is an Australian business technology journalist living a few too many Swedish miles north of Stockholm for his liking. He gained a bachelors degree in economics and arts (cultural studies) at Sydney's Macquarie University, but hacked (without Norse or malicious code for that matter) his way into a career as an enterprise tech, security and telecommunications journalist with ZDNet Australia. These days Liam is a full time freelance technology journalist who writes for several Australian publications, including the Sydney Morning Herald online. He's interested primarily in how information technology impacts the way business and people communicate, trade, and consume.

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34 comments
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  • Screw Samsung for lying

    "the company has also built a Windows Phone 8 device, the Ativ. However, Samsung mobile chief J.K. Shin told the Wall Street Journal on Thursday he was seeing "lacklustre demand for Windows-based products" in Europe. "

    - Big time liars, their Ativ WP8 phone was a no-show in many places and it was a half-ass effort.

    Samsung has much grander plans than licking MS and Google bottom.

    I foresee Samsung demise in the horizon, they may stay in limelight for another year and then they are done. Making enemies like MS in not good for Samsung in technology sphere. Samsung will be zero in enterprise. Samsung can sell TV, Fridge and Ships but will flop in computing.
    Owlll1net
    Reply 4 Votes

    • Exactly

      In the IT game you don't want to have enemies...
      ingramator
      Reply 4 Votes

      • thats

        the biggest load of balls I have read on hee for a while...........

        what you saying ?? everyone in IT should be friends eh ?? what like the way MS love Linux ?? or Samsung and Apple?

        Yes they should all join hands and dance around the maypole........

        you sir are an ahole........
        DejaVu2
        Reply Vote

    • Re: but will flop in computing.

      Funny you should say that, because Android is more of a proper computer OS than Windows Phone ever will be.
      ldo17
      Reply 6 Votes

      • Android is good in malware

        One fine morning Chinese government will ban Android, then the android market share will go to less to 20%
        Owlll1net
        Reply 4 Votes

        • Re: Android is good in malware

          I keep hearing people claiming there is a lot of Android malware about, but they can never tell me where I can actually get some.

          I mean, for Windows it's easy: just leave it connected to the Internet for 20 minutes, and it will pick up a worm or virus. But these don't exist for Android.
          ldo17
          Reply 5 Votes

          • google play market is full of it. down some and join the botnet

            its fun and free
            Johnny Vegas
            Reply 1 Vote

          • Re: google play market is full of it

            Really? Can you link to an example?

            Because, for Windows it's easy: just leave it connected to the Internet for 20 minutes, and it will pick up a worm or virus. But these don't exist for Android.
            ldo17
            Reply 2 Votes

          • Exactly

            I have NEVER seen this mysterious malware or actually known anyone else who has..............

            Its just more FUD...........
            DejaVu2
            Reply Vote

        • lol

          what an ahole, and you think they will trust a closed system MORE ???
          DejaVu2
          Reply Vote

    • The Stages Of Grief

      Well, it looks like at least one Microsoft fanatic has made the progression from stage 1 (denial) to stage 2 (anger)...
      ldo17
      Reply 6 Votes

      • Eagerly anticipating .....

        stage 3, and perhaps 4 ;-)
        D.T.Long
        Reply 3 Votes

    • Yeah this is obvious BS on samsungs part because nokia is seeing its

      highest demand in Europe. Samsung and htc just need to make versions of their best handsets like the s4 and one with WP8
      Johnny Vegas
      Reply 2 Votes

  • Windows Phone 8: Time To Start Blaming The Customers

    It was easy to blame the OEMs for the failure of Windows Phone when it was only one or two of them. But when all four of them have tried, and failed, to sell Windows-Phone-based products, perhaps it's time to conclude that the problem lies elsewhere.

    But where? Anything with "Microsoft Windows" in its name is by definition a faultless product, and anybody who tries to hint otherwise is certifiably insane. Therefore the only possibility left is the customers. Plainly, they are incapable of appreciating the huge amount of work, involving hundreds of billions of dollars and millions of engineers, not to mention dozens of lawyers, that has gone into this wonderful product.

    What Microsoft needs is to find a better model of customer. Perhaps it should launch a project to develop its own...
    ldo17
    Reply 6 Votes

    • Are you stupid: Nokia is selling well in Europe

      The only reason they have not sold well in US is #1 their production failed to keep up with the demand; #2 they work with only one carrier. Keep on your little day dream while it lasts b/c both are subjected to change, fool.
      LBiege
      Reply 3 Votes

      • Re: Are you stupid: Nokia is selling well in Europe

        Where in Europe? They only seem to have done well in Finland.
        ldo17
        Reply 2 Votes

        • It sells well in Italy, UK and Poland

          And that happened when WP8 just barely came out. Get your head outta the sand to smell the reality. There's more than just US market.
          LBiege
          Reply 2 Votes

          • He is smelling something else...

            I can't write that here....
            Owlll1net
            Reply Vote

          • Re: It sells well in Italy, UK and Poland

            But still, it seems, Finland is their only bright spot.
            ldo17
            Reply 1 Vote

          • ohh

            can you please give us hard figures please to back up these BS statements ??

            Or are you just making this up ???
            DejaVu2
            Reply Vote
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