Samung’s Tizen smartphone is one less Android

Samsung appears to be serious about breaking away from Google’s Android mobile platform with the announcement of its first commercial smartphone, the Samsung Z, which is powered by the Tizen platform.

That’s right folks – the first Tizen smartphone is here.

Looking at the actual spec list of the new Samsung Z there’s little to tell it apart from other phones on the market.

The phone comes with a 4.9-inch HD Super AMOLED display and a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor and fully supports 2D and 3D graphics. It also sports an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing camera and includes a fingerprint sensor and the ultra power saving mode that first appeared in Samsung’s Galaxy S5 flagship Android phone.

What does make the Sammy Z stand out is the fact that it is running on the open source platform called Tizen.

The Z will have access to a Tizen app store, which means buyers can expect a few thousand native apps. However the Open Mobile application compatibility will enable the handset to run Android apps too which is a good thing as we all know that the success of most devices these days is partly based on app support.

Samsung said the use of Tizen on the phone allows for a faster start-up time, immediate multitasking capabilities, and faster Web browsing. The Samsung Z features a “distinctive home and application layout for easy access to favorite features and apps.” The operating system also includes a “dynamic box” and color themes settings to let users tailor the device to their tastes.

Samsung will show off the phone at the Tizen Developer Conference, being held this week in San Francisco.

The Samsung Z is slated to ship in Q3, initially to Russia with a plan to expand it to other unnamed markets thereafter.