Samsung to launch open-source Tizen smartphone

Samsung, the world's biggest maker of mobile devices using Google's Android operating system, announced its first commercial smartphone using the Tizen open-source platform.

The Samsung Z will be available in Russia in the third quarter before expanding to other markets, the South Korea-based company said in a statement today.

The device will have a 4.8-inch screen and will be on show at the Tizen developer conference in San Francisco tomorrow.

Tizen, which is being developed with companies including Intel and Vodafone, is an alternative to Android, the most popular smartphone operating system in the world.

Asia’s biggest technology company unveiled two wristwatches using Tizen in February and had previously said its first commercial phone using the platform would be released in 2013.

Samsung has been boosting incentives in its smartphones, including adding $600 of freebies to its Galaxy S5 marquee device, as it faces more competition from Apple as well as Chinese producers including Xiaomi and Lenovo.

Bloomberg