Leaked images of prototype handset based on Tizen OS

The source code and the software development kit of the Tizen OS were out last week. Now, the images of a Tizen developer device has popped up online. Samsung has offered a prototype handset for the Tizen OS development. Samsung's Bada is almost gone and the company seems to have decided to try a new OS.

Both Intel and Linux Foundation have come together to work on the free and open source mobile OS, Tizen. It is a combination of MeeGo and LiMo and it is still under development. The new OS will be able to compete with the Android and iOS platforms that are dominant in the market.

As of now, Samsung is the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the world. It looks like the company is creating a new OS to attract a majority of the consumers. The open source Tizen is designed to support multiple devices like tablets, smartphones, in-car infotainment systems and Samsung smart TVs.

Samsung already released the Tizen v1.0 Larkspur's source code and SDK sometime back. The company is also expecting the developers to start developing apps soon. The SDK and source code have a stimulator based on browser in order to run and debug the web apps along with an enhanced emulator.

The prototype hardware given for the developers has a 4.3 inch screen with a resolution of 1024 x 720 pixels. The handset is powered by a dual core 1.2 GHz ARM processor. This is just an initial release of the new operating system and so it has not got many apps in it. The OS doesn't even bundle a camera.

The user interface looks similar to TouchWiz. It has a pull down status bar and power widget. The notification bar has a home button and it can be accessed from any screen. There is a physical home button as well on the device just like other Samsung phones. The long pressing of the button will open the task manager and recent applications. This is concept is in the Android platform.

The Tizen OS will run on HTML5 based web applications. It will not support native development. The first Tizen OS based devices are expected to show up in the second half of this year.