Korean Chaebol Samsung has announced the release of an open source mobile platform called Bada which is based on Linux and is set to help the second largest mobile phone manufacturer release cheaper smartphones quicker.
Bada is a software overlay that will be complemented by a software developer kit that will be released next week. Bada apparently means ocean in Korean (ed:, not a shorter way of writing bada**).
In the official press release, Samsung states that Bada will represent "the fresh challenges and opportunities available to developers, as well as the entertainment which consumers will enjoy once the new platform is open".
It added that it will be a much simpler environment for developers to use, although Samsung failed to elaborate on how this will be achieved.
The first smartphone to work on Samsung's Bada is set to be launched in the first half of 2010. Interestingly, Samsung has also collaborated with Vodafone on its 360 platform which incidentally uses Linux Mobile.
Samsung will also hold events in London, Seoul and San Francisco over the next few weeks to evangelise Bada in the developers' community. It remains to be seen whether Samsung will be able to control Bada given that it is an open source platform.
Our Comments
It seems slightly counterproductive for Samsung to build what will essentially amount to another walled environment. Samsung already uses Symbian, Android and Windows mobile for its mobile phones and LiMo for Vodafone. Adding a fifth mobile platform can only confuse users more.
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