Tizen Releases Version 1.0, Who Cares?

The 1.0 release of a hot new open source, Linux-based, mobile OS was just announced the other day.  Lining up behind this new mobile OS are some well known companies like Intel, Samsung, Orange, Telefonica, Huawei, NTT Docomo, Vodofone, Panasonic and The Linux Foundation, among others. So how come no one seems to care? That’s a good question, but the result may be that Tizen will be regulated to the dark corners of the OS junk pile even before it gets a chance to grow.

Tizen is the successor to the ill fated Meego and LiMO projects. Of course Meego itself was the merger of two other failed attempts at a mobile Linux based OS, Nokia Maemo and Intel Moblin. So I guess it should come as no surprise then, as Tizen represents the latest in a line of failures. Actually with Linux based Android, Apple’s iOS, Blackberry and Windows mobile OS, it may just be a case of one mobile OS too many.  Palm/HP’s WebOS faces the same uphill struggle.

Certainly the fact that it is open source allows it some sympathy and a 2nd look. It runs on both Intel’s Atom chips as well as chips from ARM. With such a steller cast of supporters making up the Tizen Association, there has got to be some momentum behind it.  In fact there is, but it may not be for a future of a mobile device as you would think of it. Instead of being on mobile phones and tablets, Tizen’s future may lie as being embedded in cars and appliances. It could also power a new generation of browser based devices. Even here though the competition will be stiff as it competes with the now open sourced WebOS and others.

But lets put aside Tizen’s future for a second and talk about what is here now. The 1.0 release is called Larkspur. Both the sourcecode and an SDK has been released. From the Tizen website: 

This release provides new features and other improvements, including the following updates to the SDK:

• Simulator: A new browser-based tool that supports the Tizen APIs and allows you to run and debug your web applications, and simulate running applications with various device profiles.
• IDE: Enhancements include more flexibility around templates and debugging tools.
• Emulator: Significantly improved emulator performance through Intel’s Hardware Acceleration Manager for Windows and OpenGL acceleration for Linux.

Updates to the platform source code include:

• Web: Support for additional features of W3C/HTML5 specification
• Location: Support for POI (Point of Interest) and route search
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi Direct key features added

This is just a summary of the many changes, but you can see the full list by visiting the release notes pages forthe SDK and the source code.

Building a new open source OS and community is no easy task.  The good news is that Tizen does have some of the infrastructure its predecessors had in place to build on. But still for all of the companies supporting it, you would think there would be more buzz out there. Instead I am afraid Tizen cannot escape its DNA. It is destined to be another OS on the cast away pile of tech that didn’t make it.