Samsung Bada Invades Crowded Mobile OS Space

Electronics giant Samsung has announced it will launch its own open mobile operating system, dubbed “Samsung bada” in December, as reports suggest that the South Korean company will no longer use Symbian in its high-end smartphones.

“This new addition to Samsung’s mobile ecosystem enables developers to create applications for millions of new Samsung mobile phones, and consumers to enjoy a fun and diverse mobile experience,” said the company.

Apparently the name ‘bada’ means ‘ocean’ in Korean, and the company said it has utilised its experience in developing previous proprietary platforms on Samsung mobile phones to create the new mobile OS.

Samsung also said that operators will be able to integrate the platform easily and be able to “provide unique and differentiated services to their customers.” It is understood there will also be a central application store.

“By opening Samsung’s mobile platforms we will be able to provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones,” said Dr Hosoo Lee, Executive VP and Head of Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics. “Bada will be Samsung’s landmark, iconic new platform that brings an unprecedented opportunity for operators, developers and Samsung mobile phone users around the world.”

In regard to time frame, it seem that the first bada-powered phone will be released in the first half of next year, along will the application store.

Meanwhile it seems the bada development could see Samsung dropping Symbian from its high-end devices. Senior vice president Don Joo Lee has been quoted in Digitimes as suggesting that Samsung will continue to adopt Windows Mobile and Android-based platforms for new smartphones, but will quit Symbian and adopt Samsung Bada instead.

That said, the arrival of Samsung’s Bada does pose the question of whether the mobile industry really needs a new operating system. After all, it is a crowded space at the moment, with mobile operating systems from Apple, Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Palm, Research In Motion, as well as the Symbian Foundation.

However, some believe that the market is so crowded because it is relatively easy to write a smartphone operating system in the first place. A couple of months ago, Steve Brazier, the President & CEO of Canalys told eWEEK Europe that it was not all that difficult to build a mobile operating system, citing the fact that Palm had done so with very limited resources.