A leaked image of a Samsung Tizen smartphone has emerged online but the picture does not reveal a lot.
Tizen is a Linux-based operating system for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones. Various speculations of a Tizen-based Samsung smartphone have been circling the smartphone space and it seems that the South Korean company may launch the Tizen handset soon.
A Korean website MovePlayer has posted an image of a Samsung Tizen smartphone, revealing the name of the new handset: ZEQ 9000.
The Mobile World Congress (MWC) event starts on February 24 and it seems highly likely that Samsung will showcase a Tizen smartphone at the event. The Korean company has already sent out e-mail invites to Tizen developers for a pre-MWC event on February 23 at the Arts Hotel in Barcelona.
The leaked image of the ZEQ 9000 does not reveal more details of the Tizen operating system but Moveplayer suggests that the handset may also be called "Zeke." It will likely sport a 4.8-inch HD display, which is smaller than the Samsung Galaxy S4. A 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor is expected to power the handset. The leaked image further suggests that the Samsung Tizen handset will have plastic casing as found on other smartphones made by the South Korean company.
The Tizen operating system is set to give competition to Android, and a version of the software was also demonstrated on a Samsung Galaxy S4 in September 2013. The Galaxy S4 running on Tizen featured a clean user interface with a Windows Phone-like feel to the tile layout. The color variation used, as well as the notifications, seem like a cross between Android and iOS 7.
Currently Android has the biggest market share in the global mobile operating system market followed by iOS. Most of the Samsung smartphones are pre-loaded with the Android operating system. If users like Tizen, then it may give competition to Android in the long run.
Samsung Tizen smartphones were initially set to debut in 2013; however, the company delayed its plans. The MWC event is still a month away and Samsung may or may not reveal more information on its Tizen handset; however, smartphone enthusiasts will be eager to lay their hands on a new smartphone running on a new operating system.
