Tech tutorials, howtos and walkthroughs

Samsung just can’t seem to get a break.

The Samsung Z9000 ZEQ, more popularly known as the Samsung Z smartphone, failed to Launch in Russia this week of Sunday July 6th 2014. No reasons have been forthcoming, but based on the fact that this smartphone’s running Tizen OS, it’s not hard to guess the problem: lack of faith by Russian Carriers in the new and as-yet untried Tizen OS.

This was most likely the same reason the Samsung Z failed to launch in Japan on NTT DoCoMo Network in January 2014, as the operators of that Network feared it wouldn’t’ do well against Google Android based smartphones.

samsung-z-tizen

Not familiar with the Samsung Z?

It made its debut at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) in 2013 as I’d explained in my article “Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona announces Huawei Ascend P2 as Samsung debuts Tizen OS”. However, a year later, after multiple mis-steps, it failed to launch by the next MWC in 2014 and later in January in Japan on NTT DoCoMo Network

Clearly NTT DoCoMo didn’t want to be guinea-pig! Samsung is trying to make money from Tizen OS Apps in a manner similar to what Google does with its Google Android phones i.e. their own App Store and purchase Apps from the Google Play Store as explained in “Samsung’s Tizen OS launched to partake in Apple and Google’s App Economy”. As per the words of a NTT DoCoMo as per the words of their representative in January 2014, quote: “The market is not big enough to support three operating systems at this time”.

Samsung made up handsomely for that disappointment by Saturday February 22nd 2014, launching the Samsung Galaxy S5 along with the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 and Samsung Galaxy Gear Neo 2 smartwatch, both of which are running the Tizen OS as I’d reported in “Don’t cry over spilt Samsung Milk as Samsung Galaxy S5 and smartwatches disappoint”.

more on Geezam.com:  Schneider Electric’s 7 Reasons Building Management System Modernization is important

Great way to recover, Samsung!

The Samsung Z9000 ZEQ – a Chip off the Old Samsung Galaxy S III Block needing some Sapphire and Gold

So you’ll probably never hear of the Tizen OS on any smartphones any time soon, as it’ll take Samsung some time to recover from this latest setback. No worry, it’s not much different from the Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone. At least according to the basic specs gleaned from a Korean Tech Website, which makes for great reading for those who can read Korean:

  1. Processor: 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 Processor
  2. OS: Tizen
  3. Screen: 4.8-inches
  4. Resolution: 1280 x 720 pixel resolution

This time, though, there may be more to the story, as Samsung may have removed the smartphone themselves, possibly due to a lack of Apps in the Tizen OS App Store, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. With little Developer support for a non-existent smartphone, Samsung is caught in a Chicken vs the Egg scenario; Developers don’t invest resources in Apps for an unknown OS and smartphones that don’t exist and smartphone shoppers don’t buy smarphones that aren’t packing lots of Apps, especially Games.

But it’s not all Doom and Gloom.

If Samsung is serious about getting Developers to make Apps for their Samsung Z smartphone, they need to do the same thing Microsoft is doing for their Windows Phone 7 OS and even the Asha OS as described in US$99 Nokia Asha 501 debuts in India as Nokia throws down the gauntlet to Budget smartphone challengers. This involves giving Developers free Samsung Z smartphones along with a Developer Kit that includes Developer Tools, built-in in-App Purchase System and loads of cash to encourage Developers to make Games and App for the phone.

more on Geezam.com:  Samsung CES 2022 – Together for Tomorrow

So will we hear from the Samsung and Tizen OS later this year? Sooner than you think my friends, as if it’s in Fitness smartwatches, it may end up being used in their answer to Google Glass, the Samsung Galaxy Glass, which is coming in September at IFA 2014 in Germany.

Design changes wouldn’t hurt its chances a bit either! Adding a dash of Sapphire in the Screen and Gold in the phone body (if possible!) would help to raise its profile a bit as well, as there may be a perception problem among Russians who may see the Samsung Z is a guinea-pig budget smartphone, not the best foot for Samsung to put forward in such a huge country with huge potential.

Finally, they could kick off sales of the smartphone in the Caribbean and Latin America, as it was originally made for a Budget smartphone. This can be achieved by making the Tizen OS smartphone into two versions:

  • Samsung Z with Sapphire Screen and Anodized Gold/brushed Aluminium Alloy Metallic Body for the US$299 upwards
  • Samsung Z with Gorilla Glass Screen and Plastic Body for the US$99 upwards

This way, they’d have a standard bearer for Tizen OS that’s comfortable both up-market in the Russia, US, UK and the rest of the Developed World as well as in the Developing World Markets like Jamaica, the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America.

About the Author

Read more on Geezam.com