Samsung wants Tizen apps

Samsung is shifting its strategy towards the Tizen platform and want to become less dependent on Google and Android. This was announced by CEO J.K. Shin, responsible for the IT and Mobile division of the company. The choice of Samsung for Tizen is important for the mobile landscape. It could lead to a further fragmentation in the market. At this moment Android and iOS (Apple) dominate the market, with Windows and Blackberry as smaller players.

What is Tizen?
Tizen is an open source operating system for devices like smartphones, tablets, netbooks and smart TV’s but can also run on in-vehicle computers. Tizen is based on Linux and Samsung and Intel are the driving forces behind it. Tizen apps are HTML5 based. Tizen provides application development tools based on the JavaScript libraries jQuery and jQuery Mobile. 

Future
It is broadly expected that the first Tizen based smartphone will enter the market this year. Samsung and Intel stimulate the development of apps for the platform with an app contest and a total prize money of 4 million dollars. This clearly indicates they mean serious business. It may take a while before Tizen gains a significant market share, but it is surely a trend to keep watching, because Samsung as a market leader can change the mobile market.