Could Samsung’s Bada operating system pose a threat to Android or Symbian?

To rival Android, Linux operating systems, Samsung Electronics, the electronic giant has announced its own open mobile operating system called as bada, which means “ocean” in Korean. It is designed for use in Smartphones and will enable rich user experience in various applications. The new operating system will be launched in December this year, when its SDK (Software Development Kit) is planned to be made available. The company predicts that bada-powered devices will become a major thrust in the market in 2010.

Bada operating system

Samsung announced the bada operating system on 10 November, 2009, and the company expects that the first mobile phone based on the operating system will be displayed in the first half of 2010, and will be available to consumers in the second half of 2010. It is reported that the company also plans to introduce a “bada application store.” However, Samsung is already selling Smartphones running on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile and Google’s Android operating system.

According to the company, the new bada software will be designed as open source and will compete against Li-Mo Foundation and Android phone platform.

Purpose of bada

Today, consumer wants rich and web connected applications in their devices that are only available in various Smartphones, which are costlier for many. Therefore, Samsung has been developing the new mobile operating system for cheaper devices to make available to everyone.

Samsung is the world’s number two mobile phone maker after Nokia, but Apple, Google, and Research in Motion are dominating in the Smartphone’s OS/app store area. Recent data shows that Smartphones will account for 16% of all cellphones this year, which suggests that there is more room for Samsung’s participation.

Currently, the Smartphone segment represents less than 5% of Samsung’s business, but it is the market’s fastest-growing and most profitable segment, therefore the company wants more participation in the growing field.

Key features of bada

According to the company, the new operating system will deliver simple, instinctive, and novel user experiences through its innovative visual design. It will have a next generation UI framework that features various new apps and user interfaces for different bada applications.

Service-oriented features: At present, the demand for service-based applications is growing in consumers. The new platform will support various service-oriented features to facilitate the expansion of connected applications. The company added that its developers can also employ various service features in the applications.

Samsung bada intends to use all the common experiences and functions across applications in the platform so that various extensible core functions like dialer, messaging, and address book can be freely use.

Samsung-Symbian divorce?

After the announcement of its own operating system, Samsung Electronics has been rumored to plan, removing Symbian from its future roadmap. It is reported that Mr. DonJoo Lee, Senior VP of Samsung’s Mobile Communications Division and Digital Media & Communications Business has also confirmed the development. However, Samsung said that it is an initial member of Symbian Foundation and continues to cooperate with Symbian Foundation and to satisfy different consumers’ needs, the company will continue its ‘multi-OS’ strategy.