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Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 due at MWC to run Tizen instead of Android: Report

Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 due at MWC to run Tizen instead of Android: Report

By Rohan Swamy | Updated: 19 February 2014 11:11 IST

While Samsung's recently dropped the prices of its Galaxy Gear Smartwatch, which had received mixed reviews, it is now being reported that Samsung will be launching the next iteration of the smartwatch with Tizen on it, at their upcoming unPacked 5 MWC 2014 event in the coming week, where the Galaxy S5 is also highly anticipated for a launch, and new Galaxy tablets.

According to the sources cited by USA Today, the Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch will feature an HTML version of the OS, which is understandable, given that Samsung would want more application developers to create apps for the platform. Samsung's showcasing of Tizen devices at MWC, is also in-line with previous rumours.

The report states that Samsung's shift to the Tizen OS is a move to counter Google's dominance over the Android OS.

Tizen was launched by Samsung last year, with the Samsung NX300M camera the first consumer device to run it, but it has had run into problems on the smartphone front since then. The fact that Samsung is still pushing forward, after announcing new partners, shows that it is aggressively trying to develop the platform for their smartphones and other connected devices.

The actual problem is smartphone developers on the Android ecosystem is that are majorly dependent on it volume to generate their revenue, via the relatively healthy app ecosystem. Smartphone and tablet manufacturers, apart from Apple, have not had success in developing their own OSes and services. Samsung is, understandably, looking at changing this with the Tizen platform, despite the problems faced by it last year. It is not surprising that Samsung too wants a larger chunk of the pie, as it is looking to launch the smartphone with a HTML-based OS, for developers, so that it may generate revenue from their wearable technology division and from the OS and services provided by it.

Meanwhile Samsung is scheduled to have an event on 23 February 2014, a day prior to the official kick-off of MWC. The press invite states "Please join the Tizen Association Board on Sunday, 23 February 2014 for a welcome reception and kick-off to MWC 2014. During this invite only event, you will get an exclusive sneak preview of the newest Tizen devices as well as an opportunity to learn about the major milestones that the Tizen project has hit since last year's event. We ask you to reserve time from 3-6 PM CET on 23 February 2014 at Hotel ARTS Barcelona where you will also have the opportunity to hear from and interview Tizen Association Board Members."

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Further reading: Android, Galaxy Gear, Galaxy Gear Smartwatch, Google, MWC, MWC 2014, Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress 2014, Samsung, Smartwatch, Tizen, Tizen OS