Samsung’s Successful Tizen Experiment Sprouting Additional Smartphones This Year
Samsung had big plans for its Tizen platform, the home-brewed mobile operating system that was supposed to free the company from its dependency on Android. That hasn't happen yet, and probably never will, though that doesn't mean Samsung is ready to give up on Tizen. Just the opposite, Samsung reportedly has plans to launch more handsets running its own OS.
That's a bit surprising when just six months ago it seemed like Tizen was destined to serve its remaining days as a smart TV platform. But then something happened. Just over a month ago, Counterpoint Research published data showing that Samsung's Tizen-based Z1 smartphone was the best selling handset in Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2015.
It's true that Bangladesh isn't a particularly big market, but what the $92 smartphone showed is that Tizen can not only survive, but thrive in emerging markets that might otherwise be dominated by Android.
"Surprisingly, Samsung Tizen based Z1 expanded its reach beyond India and got off to a positive start in Bangladesh, initial sell-in remained healthy and was the number one smartphone model in the entire country," Counterpoint Research noted.
Apparently that's given Samsung renewed interest in Tizen, as it's planning to launch multiple handsets around the platform at different price points. It's not clear if any of them will carry a premium price tag, though it doesn't really need to. The bigger goal should be to get more Tizen-based handsets in the wild, which in turn could attract more developers.
That's a bit surprising when just six months ago it seemed like Tizen was destined to serve its remaining days as a smart TV platform. But then something happened. Just over a month ago, Counterpoint Research published data showing that Samsung's Tizen-based Z1 smartphone was the best selling handset in Bangladesh in the first quarter of 2015.
It's true that Bangladesh isn't a particularly big market, but what the $92 smartphone showed is that Tizen can not only survive, but thrive in emerging markets that might otherwise be dominated by Android.
"Surprisingly, Samsung Tizen based Z1 expanded its reach beyond India and got off to a positive start in Bangladesh, initial sell-in remained healthy and was the number one smartphone model in the entire country," Counterpoint Research noted.
Apparently that's given Samsung renewed interest in Tizen, as it's planning to launch multiple handsets around the platform at different price points. It's not clear if any of them will carry a premium price tag, though it doesn't really need to. The bigger goal should be to get more Tizen-based handsets in the wild, which in turn could attract more developers.
