2014 is bound to be a big year for Samsung. Since the inception of their Galaxy Note, as well as the release of the Galaxy S III, Samsung has been on the rise on the Android side of things. Samsung has a whole slew of devices that they release every year, but arguably the next generation Galaxy S and Note devices are the ones that people get the most geared up for around here. This year, although will be the same as every other year in many aspects, there is something more to look forward to from Samsung: sneak previews into the development that they've been putting into their own smartphone platform called Tizen.
Samsung has already had an attempt at creating their own smartphone platform, which we never saw come to phones here in the U.S. Bada was a platform that didn't get very far, which is why Samsung has been able to do so well focusing solely on Android. But now that Samsung has a lot more brand awareness going for it, it would seem like the perfect time to branch off and create their own smartphone platform. Of course, with such a large change there are certain things that need to be done that will determine whether Tizen would be a success or flop.
First of all, I feel that Tizen will need to start with a viable app store. If they don't have their own already started, hopefully they'll still have some partnership with Android to where they could use or port some of the apps to whatever app store they have. As we've seen with Windows Phone and BlackBerry, lack of app store support can seemingly make or break a platform. While some of us are willing to branch out and try those third party apps that replace some of the more mainstream ones, your basic consumer isn't going to be so keen on the idea. Tizen must have a good app store ecosystem from the beginning.
Samsung already has the brand recognition that it needs to at least get Tizen off the ground, but Tizen will also need a good-looking interface that stands out from the crowd in order to succeed as well. My hope is that they'll branch off from this minimalist style that most platforms have been heading towards. If they can come up with a really nice modern design that isn't minimalist, they can have all of my brownie points because quite frankly I'm kind of sick of it. If everybody has the same thing going on, nothing really sticks out to me.
Finally, Samsung's going to need to be able to find a successful way to push themselves away from being associated with the Android platform. They're probably going to have to put their entire focus on Tizen, which probably means even less focus on their Windows Phone devices as well. The more they advertise Tizen and the more they push away from Android, the more people might be interested in Tizen.
A lot of people probably aren't going to want to switch to Tizen because they just wanted an Android device made by Samsung, not necessarily a device with platform and hardware by Samsung. However, I think that if Samsung was able to take away their experience thus far with smartphone platforms and are able to apply it to their own creation, and are able to do so somewhat uniquely, I think they have a shot to enter the competition.
Readers, what are your thoughts on Tizen? Are you excited to see Samsung's own smartphone platform, or will you be sticking with Android/Windows Phone via another manufacturer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
- Log in to post comments