After months of false starts and lack of developer interest in the platform, Samsung’s long-delayed Tizen smartphone and mobile operating system is set to follow in the footsteps of its Bada predecessor by being launched in one market with no word on international availability. The newly branded and redesigned Z1 Tizen smartphone will now be launched in India with new carrier partnerships with local carriers Reliance Communications and Aircel highlighting the possible exclusivity of the device to that market only.
To begin, the phone has been extensively redesigned from the previous model that was once meant to be launched last year in Japan and selected Asian markets before the main launch partner in NTT DoCoMo abruptly canceled all launch plans in the wake of releasing the iPhone months earlier after years of refusing to carry the popular smartphone to focus on Android. The handset was then further delayed as a planned Russian launch in the third quarter was also scrapped after Russian Samsung developer conference attendees reported that the hardware was nowhere to be found weeks before the planned launch.
The Z1 is now a mid-range phone featuring modified specifications from the high-end Z in a 4-inch WVGA resolution display, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 768MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage with support for microSD memory cards up to 64GB. The phone also features a 3.1-megapixel main camera and a VGA user-facing camera with image enhancement software for selfies. The Z1 also includes an emergency alert that is triggered when the power button is pressed four times in a row that alerts the owner’s top contacts and includes GPS data for location information. Samsung has also added its Private Mode storage capability for storing protected files, and is including its own antivirus software to protect against malware. The phone is available to purchase now for the equivalent of $92.
