Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Samsung’s Tizen Z1 smartphone receives a thumbs down from Indians

So what if it has its own operating system? What mattered to us, Indians, was high-end specifications. But Samsung’s Tizen Z1 seems to have taken the specification part with a pinch of salt.


With India being the world’s third-largest smartphone market, the South-Korean giant had high hopes of taking Z1 to all the first-time smartphone users in India. But analysts and consumers are predicating a rough run for Z1. They have, in particular, criticized its low-resolution camera and lack of software applications.


People in India don’t just look for cheaper options, they give importance to specifications as well, and with plethora of Android driven devices already available in the low-end segment Z1 even with its $92 price-tag may not get the expected footfall.


Another problem is that so far the company has failed to inspire software developers to tailor applications for the platform. Though the company has assured 1000 downloadable apps going forward, it’s just a tiny fraction of what Google Play offers.


The mobile market in India is already over crowded field with 280 smartphones brands on offer. In fact, the smartphone market in India is led by none other than Samsung and is closely followed Indian maker Micromax Informatics Ltd . In case, if Samsung is able to catch the fancy of Indians with Tizen, huge sales are up for grabs, what with only one in 10 Indians using a smartphone and sub-$100 devices accounting for nearly half the market.


Success for the Z1 in India would help Samsung shore up its flagging global market share, which fell to 24.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2014 from 32 per cent a year earlier.


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