Samsung has launched its first Tizen-based smartphone in India. The Samsung Z1 will be available from Wednesday itself in Black, White, and Wine Red colour variants, and has been priced at Rs. 5,700 rupees ($92).
The Samsung Z1 is an entry-level handset that the company is targeting as a budget entertainment device for the Indian market, with free content from Club Samsung, apart from free music content from Hungama for a period of three months. Z1 users will also get bundled subscriptions from nexGTv and BoxTV worth Rs. 1,750, with access to over 7,000 Bollywood and Hollywood movies, apart from local TV shows.
The Z1 runs the Tizen operating system backed by Samsung and other vendors including Intel, and which already powers some of the South Korean company’s wearables and TVs.
Commenting on the launch, Hyun Chil Hong, Samsung India Electronics president and CEO, said,
“The smartphone market in India is rapidly evolving, with many consumers using their device as their screen of choice for content including videos, television programs, and video games, as well as a range of apps.
We have customised the Samsung Z1 to meet these unique, entertainment-focused needs of local Indian consumers for a personal and reliable mobile experience.”
Available in white, black and wine red, the smartphone features a 4-inch WVGA (480×800 pixels) PLS display, the Samsung Z1 runs Tizen 2.3 on a 1.2GHz dual core processor coupled with 768MB of RAM. It sports a 3.1-megapixel rear camera; a VGA (0.3-megapixel) front-facing camera; 4GB of inbuilt storage expandable via microSD card (up to 64GB), and a 1500mAh battery that is rated to deliver up to 7 hours of video playback, and 8 hours of talk time. The company is also touting an ‘ultra power saving mode’.
Connectivity options include 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 4.1. The Z1 weighs 112 grams, and measures 120.4×63.2×9.7mm. Pre-loaded camera features include ‘Dream shot’ and auto face detect.
Samsung has also featured in the Z1 a SOS alert. Users have to press the power button four times for the Samsung Z1 to send out a ‘Help’ message to the user’s primary contacts and track the user’s location to provide necessary assistance.
