After many promises and false starts, Samsung has finally created its first Tizen smartphone. Say hello to the Z1, which goes on sale today (in, uhh, India).
So, what does it promise? Well, it’s actually a much lower spec device than you may be hoping for. It has a 4-inch WVGA screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 768MB of RAM, a 1500mAh battery, a 3.1-megapixel camera and 4GB of storage (plus a microSD slot). It works with 3G networks, but there’s no LTE.
Those specs doe of course contribute to the fact that it’s going on sale in India for just $US90. Still, low specs don’t necessarily make this thing an absolute slouch: Tizen is a lightweight OS, so it boots fast, is spritely when it comes to loading software and offers impressive battery efficiency. It also comes bundled with free entertainment content — and in India, that will be music and Bollywood movies.
Details of when the Z1 will appear in Western markets remain undisclosed. It also remains unclear whether another mobile OS will do much to change the market. But for now, at least Samsung can contentedly point out that it’s finally released its first Tizen phone.
