Back in June, Samsung launched the Samsung Z, the first commercially available smartphone powered by Tizen. At the time of the launch, Samsung stated the Samsung Z would be coming to Russia in Q3.
Samsung announced today that its plans to launch the Samsung Z in Russia have been postponed due to the need to “further enhance [the] Tizen ecosystem.â€Â
A revised timetable was not provided by Samsung, and no information was provided as to whether this changed any longer term plans for Tizen. On the application side of things, Samsung has been encouraging developers to build apps for Tizen through a myriad of incentives, and in some cases, through direct cash infusions.
Despite those efforts, Samsung has been beset by changes in plans by its carrier partners and likely other factors. NTT DoCoMo in Japan canceled its planned launch of the Samsung ZeQ. Orange in France also hit pause on its Tizen device launch.
Just this past June in San Francisco, Samsung’s lead engineer on the Tizen project drew cheers from the developers in attendance when he confirmed a third-quarter launch for the Samsung Z in Russia. In another conference that followed in Moscow earlier this month, it was noted the planned launch was yanked. Now, one Russian based technology analyst says that his sources are telling him that Russia will not see the Samsung Z at all in 2014.
No doubt that Samsung’s moves to bring Tizen to market are not going as planned. Not knowing all the details, the reasons are up to speculation, but seeing carrier partners like NTT DoCoMo and Orange take a step back certainly means it is more than just apps. It is quite possible they do not see room for a fifth operating system.
[signoff predefined=”Enjoy this?” icon=”icon-users”][/signoff]
