Samsung has announced that it plans to open its proprietary mobile operating system – Bada – to third party developers and device manufacturers in 2012, or in other words, make it an open-source platform, like Google’s Android operating system.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung may have another trick up its sleeve to give Bada a boost: making the operating system open source. What the Journal posted is anything but a confirmation, however. It’s based on a tip from a “source close to the situation.”
The move could make sense, and it’s the kind of move that the high profile open source blog OStatic mused might be a good move for HTC to make. It’s probably an even better move for Samsung to make, since they already have their own OS to open source.
Doing so could help spark additional developer interest, and that’s a critical component of mobile OS success. With the iOS and Android app stores already teeming with quality apps and Windows Phone quickly catching up, Samsung could find the going tough if it can’t find a way to get outside developers to show Bada some love.
Open sourcing the OS could certainly help, but we’ll have to wait for someone in the company to confirm whether or not that’s in the cards.
Samsung, the world's largest technology company by revenue, is traditionally strongest in hardware development. By opening the Bada platform to external developers, Samsung is taking a similar route as Google, which allows software engineers outside the company to adapt and modify the source code for Android for free.
Samsung launched Bada in late 2009 and the platform is used on the company's cheaper smartphones in Europe and emerging markets. The company doesn't disclose sales figures for Bada and Android-based phones. According to market research firm Gartner, Bada was on 1.9% of smartphones sold in the second quarter, with just over two million units sold, while Android had a 43.4% market share, with 46.8 million units sold.
Other global handset makers such as Nokia have had challenges in growing the market for their own operating systems. Nokia, which sells phones using its Symbian operating software, opted to partner with Microsoft Corp. this year to make phones using the U.S. company's Windows software.
Analysts say Samsung has to increase support for alternative platforms in the high-end smartphone and tablet markets, at least in the short term, to lighten its heavy reliance on Android. Last week, Samsung unveiled its 11.6-inch tablet device powered by a new version of Microsoft's Windows software.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Samsung may have another trick up its sleeve to give Bada a boost: making the operating system open source. What the Journal posted is anything but a confirmation, however. It’s based on a tip from a “source close to the situation.”
The move could make sense, and it’s the kind of move that the high profile open source blog OStatic mused might be a good move for HTC to make. It’s probably an even better move for Samsung to make, since they already have their own OS to open source.
Doing so could help spark additional developer interest, and that’s a critical component of mobile OS success. With the iOS and Android app stores already teeming with quality apps and Windows Phone quickly catching up, Samsung could find the going tough if it can’t find a way to get outside developers to show Bada some love.
Open sourcing the OS could certainly help, but we’ll have to wait for someone in the company to confirm whether or not that’s in the cards.
Samsung, the world's largest technology company by revenue, is traditionally strongest in hardware development. By opening the Bada platform to external developers, Samsung is taking a similar route as Google, which allows software engineers outside the company to adapt and modify the source code for Android for free.
Samsung launched Bada in late 2009 and the platform is used on the company's cheaper smartphones in Europe and emerging markets. The company doesn't disclose sales figures for Bada and Android-based phones. According to market research firm Gartner, Bada was on 1.9% of smartphones sold in the second quarter, with just over two million units sold, while Android had a 43.4% market share, with 46.8 million units sold.
Other global handset makers such as Nokia have had challenges in growing the market for their own operating systems. Nokia, which sells phones using its Symbian operating software, opted to partner with Microsoft Corp. this year to make phones using the U.S. company's Windows software.
Analysts say Samsung has to increase support for alternative platforms in the high-end smartphone and tablet markets, at least in the short term, to lighten its heavy reliance on Android. Last week, Samsung unveiled its 11.6-inch tablet device powered by a new version of Microsoft's Windows software.
0 comments:
Post a Comment