Samsung will merge its Bada mobile OS with the Intel-backed open source Tizen platform, according to reports.
In an interview with Forbes, Tae-Jin Kang, senior vice-president of Samsung’s Contents Planning Team, said that once the integration is complete, Tizen will support apps written on Bada’s SDK, including apps which have previously been developed.
Kang believes Tizen will appear on “at least one or two” Samsung devices this year. A Samsung spokesperson today confirmed the merger of the platforms to Reuters.
Samsung has seen successful in the smartphone market with many of its Android devices. However, some analysts believe Samsung is trying to reduce its dependency on Android due to legal issues surrounding its Android smartphones and Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility. Samsung also has released Windows Phone devices.
Tizen is a Linux-based open source platform for devices such as smartphones, tablets and smart TVs. It uses technologies from MeeGo, a platform which Nokia dropped development of in favour of using Windows Phone as its primary OS.
The Tizen platform is still in development, however, this input from Samsung could push it further.