Samsung Tizen OS Demo Shows A Slight Departure From Android [VIDEO]

The Samsung Z is the first smartphone by Samsung Electronics Co. (KRX:005930) to run the new Tizen operating system, which was shown in a demo by the tech website The Handheld Blog on Monday.

The Handheld Blog says this is the same software users will see on the Samsung Z when it's released in the third quarter. The Samsung Z will run the Tizen 2.2.1 platform version; Samsung developed Tizen for more than two years before announcing its commercial release on a smartphone. Meanwhile, Samsung adopted the Android operating system by Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) for its devices.

The Tizen demo shows the system's similarity to the Android: Samsung has implemented elements of its own TouchWiz user interface into Tizen. Many of Samsung’s branded apps are available with Tizen, in addition to the Tizen Store for apps (in place of the Google Play Store). Users will also find Samsung’s web browser, which fully supports the HTML 5 web protocol.

The Tizen operating system is based on the Linux kernel, which contains the most basic command codes that can be built upon to create software. As an open-source code, the Linux kernel and Tizen operating system allow programmers to access them for free to develop their own applications and other software. Being a developer-friendly operating system is likely to be a selling point for Tizen.

Follow me on Twitter.