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Samsung Vows to Advance Tizen OS in Wearables & Beyond

1AF - TIZEN OS OF EVERYTHING
In a recent interview with Charlie Rose, Apple's CEO Tim Cook was asked who Apple's number one competitor was. Although Charlie Rose thought it was Samsung, Cook made it clear it was really Google who supplies Android to Samsung and others. That was a nice slap in Samsung's face who truly believes that they're Apple's toughest competitor. While it's a long standing fact that Samsung has been attempting to get their Tizen OS off the ground, they've run into some rather embarrassing missteps thus far. But like a dog on a bone, they're determined to make Tizen a winner and take on Apple directly on smartphones and in new areas such as wearables, the smart home, TVs, smart vehicle systems and beyond. Today we've learnt that Samsung has openly vowed to advance their Tizen platform at the Samsung Open Source Conference. 

 

In creating the world's top smartphone brand, Samsung Electronics has relied heavily on Google's open-based Android platform," states Yonhap, a Korean publication. With a conference that started Tuesday, Samsung has taken steps toward decreasing their reliance on Android OS and greater control of its products' operating systems.

 

Diversification has emerged as the key word that will enable Samsung to hedge its risks, prompting Samsung to invest more in the alternative platform Tizen through closer collaboration with U.S.-based chip giant Intel.

 

Topics that will be covered at the conference include open-source project leadership, Tizen TV architecture, and developing apps with Tizen Web APIs for multiple profiles. Choi Jong-deok, an executive vice president at Samsung's software development center, said he expected the conference to lay the groundwork for more participation by local app developers and for the proliferation of more experienced programmers.

 

"The main purpose of the conference is to get more developer support to build a Samsung-initiated Tizen platform," said a Samsung official.

 

Intel and IBM officials are set to present their strategies for open-source technologies for the Internet of Things, and Samsung will talk more about application programming between Tizen-powered wearable devices and Samsung Gear 2.

 

The shift toward Tizen follows what Google CEO Larry Page described as a "tense meeting" with Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong at the Allen and Co. conference in Sun Valley, Calif., in July.

 

Simply put, the Android creator Google is not happy that Samsung is increasing its spending on Tizen-based digital products because while diversification does make sense for Samsung, it is not in Google's interests.

 

Samsung's move toward Tizen is expected to speed up as the company expands a home appliance lineup powered by the Tizen platform in line with its commitment to reach into connected home businesses.

 

"If Samsung builds up its own ecosystem by putting a Tizen platform on its wearable devices, then I think there are some opportunities for Samsung to expand the platform to other IoT things," said one developer attending the conference. 

 

Tizen's biggest event of the year, the Tizen Developer Summit, will be held this year in Shanghai China between October 20 and 21. It's no secret that China is bent on developing their own family of operating systems. As a new report puts it: "The 'ultimate goal' of the [Chinese Government's) OS … is to supplant Microsoft Windows, Google's Android and other platforms of foreign origin as the software that powers computers within China." Obviously Tizen is going to play a role in this tectonic shift now underway in China.

 

In the end, Samsung may not be Apple's number one competitor today but could be in the future where the two will likely square off in markets such as wearables, the smart home and other "Internet of Things" based trends. Whille I may not like Samsung, I have to admit that they're certainly a tenacious competitor that can't be taken too lightly.

 

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