Initially I was expecting a Samsung Z unpacked event at the Tizen Developer Summit Russia 2014, that would of signified the launch of the Samsung Z (SM-Z910F), and the first commercially available Tizen Smartphone, but with just less than 48 hours to go, the event was cancelled. The official reason provided by Samsung to websites like the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), and The Verge etc, was that the Tizen app ecosystem was not strong enough to support a Tizen Smartphone release at this moment in time.
The “app ecosystem problem” has been an issue for any all new Smartphone Operating Systems (OS). Blackberry had the problem with their new BB10 nucleus based OS, MicroSoft with Windows phone 8 and smaller players like Jolla. Its a catch 22 situation, a new Smartphone OS needs already published applications, and developers want actual devices in the market place to develop applications for.
Tizen has been plagued with delays, and from a Marketing perspective this latest negative PR can not be good for Samsung or Tizen. A delay now could mean weeks, it could be far longer, its just not known at this point. The app ecosystem would of been fairly strong for Samsung to think of launching now and it doesn’t seem credible to cancel something with only 48 hours to go, because of an ecosystem issue.
Nevertheless App Ecosystems take time to grown and Samsung need to cut the cord soon to let app developers & companies to bring their existing application to Tizen. The wait continues, the hope is that its not too long to go now, again.
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