Finally! Samsung has launched the first Tizen powered smartphone after many months of postponement and delays. Tizen has been in development for several years and devices launched running Tizen many months back, these include TVs, cameras and smartwatches. Samsung has finally launched the Samsung Z1 running Tizen, and it’s a budget phone.
Initially it was said that Samsung would launch as a high end Tizen device in Russia, something which did not come to pass and this soon shifted to a plan to launch a budget smartphone in India. This also faced some delay but finally this is over. Tizen phone is now here and seeks to make a mark in the budget phone category starting with a market that would be a good test bed for it, India.
Samsung has worked on the phone OS to get as much localized services such as entertainment in India as possible, this includes access to over 270,000 songs either downloadable or streamed and 80 live channels. This looks like it’s ready to be an ecosystem on it’s own. The content bundle is said to be worth 1,750 Rupees a year and it also includes Bollywood and Hollywood movies via Mobile Live TV service nexGTV and Box TV.
Samsung also gave the phone a “simple user interface” and “enhanced web performance” with “faster boot time and quick access to apps”.
Samsung Z1 Product Specifications
| Network | GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, HSDPA 900/2100 MHz |
| Display | 4” WVGA PLS screen |
| AP | 1.2 GHz Dual Core Processor |
| OS | Tizen 2.3 |
| Camera | Rear: 3.1 MPFront: VGA |
| Camera Features | Auto Face Detect Feature, Dream Shot |
| Video | MP4, M4V, 3GP, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV |
| Audio | MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, AMR, AWB, FLAC |
| Additional Features | Ultra Power Saving Mode, Private Mode, Send Help Message, Security |
| Connectivity | WiFi 802.11 b/g/nBluetooth® 4.1USB 2.0GPS |
| Sensor | Accelerometer |
| Memory | 4GB Internal memory + micro SD slot (up to 64GB)768 MB RAM |
| Dimension, Weight | 120.4 x 63.2 x 9.7 mm, 112g |
| Battery | 1500 mAh |
