Samsung ditching android

[Punisher11]

http://www.youmobile.org/blogs/entry...form-this-year

interesting move

[Stealth]

Maybe switching over to ubuntu

[EXCellR8]

read up on ubuntu for mobile recently; would be interested it trying it... could be the next best thing.

i do like android but it's still far from perfect; probably never will be. i hear there's some issues on the nexus too...

[sfd]

No no no. Bad move on Samsung's part. There's one mobile platform that stayed locked down and on a single device and it's Apple. Everyone else has failed in some fashion without a massive device backing. Nokia failed, Blackberry failed, and Windows is only decent enough due in part to MS backing it and multiple handsets running it. Android made head way because Samsung ran with them along with dozens of other makers. It's the only reason it completes against Apple.

Splintering things only means segmenting the overall mobile ecosystem more. I just can't see this working well especially for app developers. That means 5 different OSes to code for not to mention the variations inside those. Can't imagine them putting more effort and money into more builds.

[EXCellR8]

so what exactly is the Tizen OS then? is that like korean developed mobile operating sys or something?

EDIT: nvm... apparently it's this: https://www.tizen.org/

it's not ubuntu... but it is Linux and will most likely be very similar

[zedron]

Perfect. I cant wait till Samsung realizes what a bad idea this is going to be.

[Adrenaline]

Yeah, bad bad move. Like Nokia or BB bad. Further confirms my suspicion that Samsung really doesn't have that great of a pulse on the NA market. Good if you hold AAPL though.

[Jake]

Perfect. I cant wait till Samsung realizes what a bad idea this is going to be.

Or possibly a good idea. Samsung isn't putting all their eggs in 1 basket. Samsung pretty much made Android and Google repays them by delaying updates to their phones and driving people towards Nexus.

[EXCellR8]

Solid point I guess... "thanks for helping to make android a success, you were a good guinea pig. now we've collected enough info to make our own phones, thanks again!"

i haven't ever heard of this other mobile OS, but i'm definitely a supporter of other Linux projects. i feel like we'll be able to project its lifeline when the first device launches...

[Adrenaline]

Or possibly a good idea. Samsung isn't putting all their eggs in 1 basket. Samsung pretty much made Android and Google repays them by delaying updates to their phones and driving people towards Nexus.

I can't see many customers in NA/euro markets buying into a new operating system on premium phones without 1. Major app support or 2. Something amazing to differentiate it that they can't get elsewhere.

The Galaxy S phones give consumers an Android experience with top quality hardware and reliability, which is why I think they give Apple a run for their money. But without huge app support, it's tough to imagine replicating that success. Microsoft has had a tough enough time and they actually own some good differentiation, like MS Office integration and Brand power.

The other challenge I see is legal issues. How can you bring a new OS into the market that doesn't violate a ton of Apple, Google, and MS patents?

[civcmatt]

bad bad bad bad bad move!

if they Go Ubuntu...sure could be good but i really think only nerds will pick up on it....not the gen pop

[Adrenaline]

To me, I think Samsung's best bet is to continue the strategy that is already working for them: beat Apple to market on innovation and launch dates; keep marketing aggressively against Apple, and keep Apple pissed off at you and suing you, cementing the consumers perception that you truly offer an alternative, top quality product.

[EXCellR8]

if they Go Ubuntu...sure could be good but i really think only nerds will pick up on it....not the gen pop

it's not ubuntu.

getting back to app developers it seems like sooner or later the market is going to be too widespread, resulting in poor app markets on newer mobile OS. i know if I was coding up stupid little apps all day the last thing I would want to do is start porting over code for 10 different OS; dealing with all kinds of bugs and compatibility issues for each and every little fucking thing. not to mention that pricing would need to be done carefully to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and support would probably be a nightmare for smaller devs. there's already a lot of mainstream apps that come in many different flavors depending on the OS. take that times say 10 and it's a mess...

lol pretty soon every mobile manufacturer will have their own or heavily modified OS.

[civcmatt]

well ya app developers would have a bitch to deal with...but then again converting from Android to Linux prolly wouldnt be that difficult....

I just honestly do not see the gen population (my and your moms and dads) seeing "new Linux 2.0 OS" and saying WTF is that and sticking with iOS or Android.

[Harry]

This is going to be bad at first but I think Samsung is looking really far down the road. They're big enough now and so well diversified where they're willing to absorb the consequences of this risk in order to receive the longer term benefit. They're in a position where they want to grow as a dominant player in the market, but they're compromised by android which they probably feel is a handicap for long term growth. They can't truly dominate unless they control all aspects of their product. I'm sure they're not going to lose with this. There's no risk here that we can talk about that they're not calculating for. App base being a huge thing, I'm sure the incremental change over will be done in a careful way in order to ensure a minimum hit. At first this is going to help Apple the most. The competition is already fragmented enough, android comes in so many flavors to begin with that it's difficult for consumers to identify, whereas IOS has pretty much locked it down. Now it's going to be watered down even more only to cause even more confusion, and create an even stronger position for Apple. Maybe this is why Apple makes changes to their products at glacier speed.
Long term, this is a good move for Samsung, it's a hard and costly transition that has to be made, and five years down the road it's going to put them in a solid position to be and stay at the top. The only thing is, be prepared for a LOT of lawsuits.

[Punisher11]

Long term, this is a good move for Samsung, it's a hard and costly transition that has to be made, and five years down the road it's going to put them in a solid position to be and stay at the top. The only thing is, be prepared for a LOT of lawsuits.

im thinking they learned a lot from the apple lawsuits. i figure they release something that is truly innovative, lock out apple on patents, and finally beat the iphone in the US

[Stealth]

You don't think apple will still sue? lol. They will always sue as long as it's similar to anything they make.

[Harry]

if a lawsuit has no merit it won't proceed to trial.

[Harry]

i figure they release something that is truly innovative, lock out apple on patents, and finally beat the iphone in the US

This is key. There must be innovation. Samsung has to create it's own unique concept. There are lots of ways to spin the current status quo smartphone into something truly unique. Come up with something everyone else wants to emulate rather than emulating something everyone else already wants. I hope they do, otherwise they will only beat the iphone by default, ie; wait for apple to drop the ball. Waiting for that to happen isn't much of a strategy.

You can only improve so much on something that has been done to death. Android has invested obscene amounts of money in r&d, you're not just going to come along and reinvent the wheel without stepping on a shitload of patents. Just like Apple thought it could do when it tried to make it's own maps program just because Google denied them the full version. Nobody, not even apple with all the money in the world will ever make a better maps program than Google. That ship has sailed. If Samsung simply tries to make a carbon copy of Android, it might as well stay where it is.

[Jake]

To me, I think Samsung's best bet is to continue the strategy that is already working for them: beat Apple to market on innovation and launch dates; keep marketing aggressively against Apple, and keep Apple pissed off at you and suing you, cementing the consumers perception that you truly offer an alternative, top quality product.

That's actually pretty smart if it is their strategy. As long as they can keep their costs low enough.

Where does Samsung really innovate though? or Android for that matter. It's like an open iOS. Pretty boring and played out. I'll be moving to windows for my next phone.

dealing with all kinds of bugs and compatibility issues for each and every little fucking thing. not to mention that pricing would need to be done carefully to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and support would probably be a nightmare for smaller devs. there's already a lot of mainstream apps that come in many different flavors depending on the OS. take that times say 10 and it's a mess...

Developing for Android is already a pain in the ass. Too many different phones and OS versions to account for.