Samsung launches Z1, first smartphone powered by its own Tizen OS, for Rs 5,700

NEW DELHI: Putting an end to a two-year wait, Samsung launched Z1, its first smartphone running on its own operating system Tizen in India on Wednesday, and priced at Rs 5,700.

Aimed at consumers upgrading from featurephones to smart phones, the Z1 features a 4-inch WVGA PlS screen on which top eight used apps will pop up according to a customer's use. Powered by a 1.2 GHz dual core processor has a 786 MB RAM with a 4GB internal storage which is expandable to 64 GB. It has a 3 MP rear camera and VGA front camera.

The 1500 mAh battery offers 7 hours of video, while a ultra power saving mode enhances battery life. The dual Sim phone is also equipped with an SoS alert which gets activated after pressing the power button four times, in case of an emergency.

Hyun Chil Hong, president and CEO of Samsung India, said that India was a critical market for the company, highlighting reasons for the global launch from here. "About a 1,000 people at our R&D center in India have worked exclusively on this product," he said.

Targeting the low-end of the smartphone market with Tizen, Samsung may have a chance to compete with aggressive Indian players like Micromax, Lava that offer high specs at low prices and its international rival Xiaomi, which has upstaged the Korean giant in one of the world's largest device market, China.

Samsung's move also pits the Z1 directly in competition with Google-backed Android One devices, launched in September in partnerships with Indian device makers for the local market. Samsung Corp's mobile division, which typically accounts for two-thirds of the company's revenue, has been hit hard by saturation in the high-end market and intensifying pressure on the low end.

Profits at Samsung's IT & mobile communications divisions globally tumbled 74% in the third quarter year-on-year, in part due to a lower average selling price for smartphones.

In India, Samsung leads the feature phone and smartphone markets, and is the second largest consumer product company by revenue. It aims to be the largest in 2015.

In India, featurephones make up about two thirds of the mobile device market. However, it remains to be seen whether the device can move the needle for Samsung, when it already has smart phones on the more prevalent Android operating system countrywide.

Consumers buying the device will get free 500 MB of 3G data every month for six months from Reliance Communications and Aircel.