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Tizen is an open source, Linux-based operating system that rose out of the ashes of the dead-before-their-time MeeGo, Moblin, and Maemo operating systems. It’s not a continuation of those products like Sailfish so much as a replacement operating system with the same key backers including Samsung and Intel.

Samsung reportedly sees Tizen as an opportunity to wrest a bit more control over its own devices away from Google: The original Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch, for instance, had an Android-based operating system. This year’s Gear 2 models run Tizen instead.

Now it looks like we could start to see the first Tizen smartphones soon… just not in the US or most of Europe, at least not yet.

tizen logo

Here’s a roundup of tech news from around the web.

  • Samsung’s first Tizen phones could launch in Russia, India
    Samsung is reportedly going to target Russia and India first, and could launch its first Tizen phones in these countries in June. By focusing on emerging markets, Samsung can try to gain customers in a place where smartphone usage is growing quickly instead of competing against Android and iOS devices in more mature markets where many potential customers are already loyal to a platform. [WSJ]
  • At least four Tizen devices are in the works
    Model numbers for those first devices could include the SM-Z500, SM-Z700, Sm-Z900, and SM-Z910. [@evleaks]
  • Samsung is expected to unveil Tizen for smart TV devices in June
    In case it wasn’t already clear by the Tizen smartwatches and cameras Samsung has already launched, Tizen isn’t just for smartphones and tablets. [Tizen Indonesia]
  • Huawei/Omate launching a GPS-tracker phone for kids (for parents to track their kids, really)
    The makers of the Omate TrueSmart Android smartwatch are working with Huawei on a wristwatch with a GPS tracker that can help you make sure your kids don’t get lost on the next trip to an amusement park… it could also take the fun out of games of hide and seek. [+Laurent Le Pen]
  • Anything over 600 pixels per inch is probably just marketing
    When Apple introduced the first iPhone with a “Retina” display, the company implied that anything over 326 pixels per inch on a phone was overkill. That’s not strictly speaking true… but as device makers quickly approach the 600 ppi space, we’re getting to point where adding more pixels really will just provide a way to drain your phone’s battery without offering any tangible benefits. [AnandTech]
  • OS Experience jailbreak tweak brings desktop-style multitasking to the iPad
    The lines between desktop and mobile operating systems continue to blur as Windows gets more and more tablet-friendly and Android and iOS gain multi-windowing capabilities. A few Android phone and tablet makers build support for multi-window mode into their devices, and there are third-party tools that offer similar functionality. Now iPad users can also enter in the true multi-tasking playground… assuming they jailbreak their devices and install a third-party tweak. [TNW]

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3 replies on “Lilbits (5-12-2014): Tizen is coming”

  1. Waiting for the day smartphones come with a regular install of linux and the “phone” part is just another application that you install. It should have access to all the regular linux applications and maybe an emulator for running Android apps too.

  2. Fantasic news!
    We are many who wants alternative to existing OS and because Tizen is based on former Nokia linuxbased OS MeeGo it is even more interesting as competitor to Android.
    Nokia which don’t exist anymore as mobile device brand now when Microsoft have auquired
    Nokia Mobile devices.

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