Samsung Z1, the First Commercially Available Tizen Smartphone, Has Launched in India

Tizen operating system is already found in cameras, and smartwatches, with works also being done for televisions, laptops and cars, but the Tizen smartphone has been mostly newsworthy because of product cancellations or delays, rather than product launches. But finally, the first Tizen smartphone has been introduced in India, it’s called Samsung Z1 and sells for 5,700 Indian Rupees ($92).

Samsung Z1 (SM-Z130H/DS) specifications:

• Processor – Spreadtrum SC7727S dual core Cortex A7 processor @ 1.2 GHz with Mali-400 GPU
• System Memory – 768 MB RAM
• Storage – 4GB Internal memory + micro SD slot (up to 64GB)
• Display – 4” WVGA (800×480) PLS screen
• Cellular Connectivity – GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, HSDPA 900/2100 MHz. Dual SIM support.
• Connectivity – WiFi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.1, GPS
• Video – MP4, M4V, 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV
• Audio – MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, AMR, AWB, FLAC
• Camera – 3.1MP rear camera, VGA front-facing camera
• USB – micro USB 2.0 port
• Sensor – Accelerometer
• Battery – 1500 mAh battery good for 7 hours of video playback, or 8 hours of talk time
• Dimensions – 120.4 x 63.2 x 9.7 mm
• Weight – 112 grams

The phone runs Tizen 2.3, and also comes with other features such as “Ultra Power Saving Mode, Private Mode, Send Help Message, Security”. Some blogs report Samsung Z1 will run Android apps via OpenMobile ACL, but TechCrunch contacted Samsung and got a different story:

We asked Samsung just how many apps are available for Tizen, but the company declined to reveal a figure. Samsung did, however, confirm that reports suggesting that the Z1 could use Android apps were incorrect.

“Both Android and iOS apps must have their codes re-written to run on Tizen devices,” a spokesperson said.

So it’s quite possible only a subset of Android app will run on Tizen, or if the phone did not include an Application Compatibility Layer (ACL), the apps would have to be ported to Tizen. Wait and see.

You may want to read Samsung Z1 user’s manual for more details, and/or visit Samsung Z developers’ page to download the SDK and documentation.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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