After years in the making, Samsung may finally be ready to unveil its first Tizen-powered devices next month. The company will reportedly make an announcement at MWC 2014 which will once again take place in Barcelona, Spain, next month. It should also give more information on its launch plans at the event. Just this week, a rumour indicated that Tizen devices could hit the street as early as March. But at least one of the largest smartphone markets already looks set to miss out on these first Tizen devices.
Speaking with FierceWireless at CES 2014, Ryan Bidan, Samsung Telecommunications America’s Director of Product Marketing said that the U.S. does not figure in the company’s current Tizen launch plans. “We don’t feel the U.S. is a great test market for those kinds of products,” he explained. “The U.S. market is pretty mature. Bringing a new entrant here that doesn’t meet a certain performance bar would be a challenge. Recognizing that, we don’t want to set ourselves up for failure.”
The transition from feature phones to smartphones is not as far advanced in emerging markets than it is in mature markets. Samsung may be hoping that it will be easier to sway people over to its new operating system there than to try to get them to shift from the well-established Android and iOS operating systems in more mature markets.
Left unsaid is the possibility that Samsung also does not want to distract customers in more mature markets away from its flagship devices (which come with better profit margins) with a new, potentially more interesting OS powering less powerful devices.
Should Tizen prove to be a hit, Samsung’s plans may change quickly, especially with Sprint being another of Tizen’s partners. The carrier could see Tizen devices as a way to distinguish itself from its competition.
For now, keep your fingers crossed but don’t hold your breath!
Source : FierceWireless