ID :
208357
Tue, 09/20/2011 - 16:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/208357
The shortlink copeid
Samsung considering opening 'bada' system to outside handset makers
SEOUL, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- In an apparent move to reduce its reliance on Google Inc.'s Android, Samsung Electronics Co. said Tuesday that it is considering opening its in-house mobile operating software "bada" to other handset makers.
Samsung has long been weighing pros and cons of ending the exclusive use of bada for its mobile phones, the company spokesman, Kwon Hyuk-joong, said by phone without elaborating.
Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day that Samsung plans to make bada software an open-source platform next year, citing an unnamed source. The move is also aimed at introducing bada system to the fledgling smart TV area, as well as mobile devices, the report said.
Courting outside handset makers to manufacture smartphones based on bada system will likely breed a bigger global community of users and application developers.
Samsung quickly turned itself from a smartphone also-ran to the close rival of Apple Inc., helped by the booming demand for its Android-based smartphone and tablet devices.
But Samsung, the world's second-biggest smartphone maker in the second quarter after Apple, is facing heightened challenges as Google is set to buy a handset maker and its patent disputes with Apple see no end on the horizon.
Google's surprise announcement last month that it will acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Ltd., a major Android device maker and Samsung's phone rival, spawned market speculations that Android handset makers will try to reduce their reliance on Google to hedge risks.
Despite Google's statement that it will keep Android open and run Motorola as a separate business, many analysts have taken Google's move as an indication of the growing need to integrate mobile software and mobile hardware under a single business operation.
Samsung also failed to overturn a German court's decision to ban sales of its Android tablet computer in Germany on the ground that its product copied Apple's iPad.
Last week, the Korean firm unveiled its first tablet computer based on new software by Microsoft Corp. in what is seen by many as its latest move to diverge its Android bet.
Since Samsung disclosed its own proprietary mobile software at the end 2009, the company has used the in-house operating system largely for low- to mid-end smartphones for European markets. Its high-end Galaxy series of smartphones and tablet PCs were based on Google's Android.
Shortly after Google's announcement to buy Motorola, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee told his executives that Samsung should bank more on bada system.
Samsung first developed bada software to turn millions of its conventional cell phone customers into smartphone users with cost-effective smartphones, it said on its Web site.
Bada's features include a multi-touch screen, support for Flash-based Web sites and an integration of multiple social networking sites into an application.
Samsung has long been weighing pros and cons of ending the exclusive use of bada for its mobile phones, the company spokesman, Kwon Hyuk-joong, said by phone without elaborating.
Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day that Samsung plans to make bada software an open-source platform next year, citing an unnamed source. The move is also aimed at introducing bada system to the fledgling smart TV area, as well as mobile devices, the report said.
Courting outside handset makers to manufacture smartphones based on bada system will likely breed a bigger global community of users and application developers.
Samsung quickly turned itself from a smartphone also-ran to the close rival of Apple Inc., helped by the booming demand for its Android-based smartphone and tablet devices.
But Samsung, the world's second-biggest smartphone maker in the second quarter after Apple, is facing heightened challenges as Google is set to buy a handset maker and its patent disputes with Apple see no end on the horizon.
Google's surprise announcement last month that it will acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Ltd., a major Android device maker and Samsung's phone rival, spawned market speculations that Android handset makers will try to reduce their reliance on Google to hedge risks.
Despite Google's statement that it will keep Android open and run Motorola as a separate business, many analysts have taken Google's move as an indication of the growing need to integrate mobile software and mobile hardware under a single business operation.
Samsung also failed to overturn a German court's decision to ban sales of its Android tablet computer in Germany on the ground that its product copied Apple's iPad.
Last week, the Korean firm unveiled its first tablet computer based on new software by Microsoft Corp. in what is seen by many as its latest move to diverge its Android bet.
Since Samsung disclosed its own proprietary mobile software at the end 2009, the company has used the in-house operating system largely for low- to mid-end smartphones for European markets. Its high-end Galaxy series of smartphones and tablet PCs were based on Google's Android.
Shortly after Google's announcement to buy Motorola, Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee told his executives that Samsung should bank more on bada system.
Samsung first developed bada software to turn millions of its conventional cell phone customers into smartphone users with cost-effective smartphones, it said on its Web site.
Bada's features include a multi-touch screen, support for Flash-based Web sites and an integration of multiple social networking sites into an application.
