Samsung Z1 will be Tizen's Debut - Does the World even need it?

Samsung has been going back and forth about their in house Tizen OS, but it seems they are finally ready to reveal their first Tizen device. Christened ‘Z1‘, the device is rather a weak attempt to convince the world to even notice Samsung’s new invention, which in itself is incompetent in every sense of the word. Samsung had planned to use the Tizen OS as a likely replacement to Android, but it looks like that will have to wait, or probably not happen at all. The new OS has nothing to boast of, and it will take some really strong marketing to actually get people to notice it. The only way to successfully promote a new smartphone these days is to give people more for less, and the Z1 definitely stands no chance there. Lets take a look at what Samsung is offering in their first iteration of their Tizen OS device –

Connectivity – The Samsung Z1 will feature 2G and 3G connectivity only. The absence of 4G connectivity is a big shock, as all devices these days come with 4G connectivity. International users , who are used to 4G connectivity might not even spare this device a glance, neither will the people in the other emerging markets. Connectivity is one area where no device should go wrong, but it looks like the Z1 has broken that record.

Display – The Device comes with a 4 inch capacitive touch screen. The resolution is recorded at 480 * 800 pixels, with a pixel density of 233 ppi. Don’t expect miracles from this device as the resolution and ppi are not exactly what you call , Impressive. The resolution should have been bumped up a bit , but it looks like Samsung has taken the word ‘ entry level ‘ way too seriously.

Performance and Memory – The chipset is still not official but is known is that we will be getting a 1.2 GHz dual core CPU, typical of an entry level device. The RAM is reportedly, less than 1GB (768 MB to be precise), not exactly christmas for the multi-taskers. We have 4 GB of internal memory with Sd expansion upto 32 GB. The memory package is decent for an entry level, but the processor and RAM definitely need a bump up.

Camera – The Z1 features a 3.12 MP rear camera with LED flash, and a VGA front camera. This camera package cannot be used in any way, as a selling point, as we have other entry level devices sporting better camera sensors. The Front camera is not exactly a must have feature in entry level devices, but its equally true that the devices that do have a front camera sensor in the entry level segment , feature at least a 2 MP sensor. Even the rear camera could have been upgraded to a 5 MP sensor. A 3.2 MP and VGA combo – not exactly a winning combination.

We have no extra features , except for maybe the FM Radio. The radio feature is being shunned these days as people really don’t rely on FM radio for their music, everything is available at the click of a button. Overall, we pretty much get just a plain, simple entry level device which has next to no selling points at all. The Device will boot Tizen OS version 2.2.1. The OS itself has had no major publicity going on, and frankly, people will have to think at least 10 times before even considering this device. From what I have seen, the Tizen OS is similar to Android, and can even run Android apps. The UI is similar to the TouchWiz UI, but definitely not the same. Overall, its an experiment thats going to cost Samsung a lot of money, and they will have to pull off a miracle in order to get sales going for this device.

The Tizen OS has seen a turbulent spell in the past, starting from its development , to its release date, to the debut device, and although Samsung itself has been backing this new OS, deep down, they do know that its their famed Galaxy lineup, which is keeping them on top. I feel, Samsung shouldn’t have gone ahead with the Tizen project in the first place as they have been going really strong with Android , and there was no reason to even think of making a whole new OS. They should have used up the Tizen Budget to make upgrades to their existing lineup in order to give them the extra boost.

All in all , I don’t see the Z1 pulling off anything spectacular, and if Samsung does intend to carry Tizen forward, they better come up with something at a flagship or mid range level rather than the entry level, where it has already registered its first defeat.