In According to sources, Samsung and Intel have joined hands with two Linux software groups for developing a new operating system for cell phones and other devices. Under the deal, the LiMo Foundation and Linux Foundation are effectively merging their LiMo and Meego mobile operating systems and hope to gain wider industry and consumer support, but analysts said the new Tizen platform is likely to struggle.
However, it is not clear what kind of future the new Tizen platform will have in a market that is dominated by Apple and Googles Android OS. Will Tizen be able to attract wider developer and manufacturer support? Analysts are full of doubts. Due to lack of backing, even industry majors like Nokia and Hewlett-Packard have been forced to ditch their mobile platforms.
Neil Mawston, the analyst with Strategy Analytics says, The best hope for them is that big operators get worried by Android's increasing smartphone dominance and decide to consciously switch their allegiances to rival platforms to restrict Google's huge influence over the mobile market.
LiMo Foundation and the Linux Foundation have said that the new Tizen platform is going to be an open-source, standards-based software platform that supports multiple devices including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle 'infotainment' systems. The OS is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2012. This would enable devices using the OS to enter the market in mid-2012.
Intel and Samsung will head the technical steering committee engaged in developing Tizen. Samsung is the leading user of the Android platform, but some other makers of Android-operated phones have begun to look at alternatives since Google agreed to buy Motorola Mobility last month for $12.5 billion. A spokesman for Samsung said: "We've been a core Linux partner ... and this is in line with our strategy of supporting many platforms."
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