Samsung, the No. 2 handset maker in the third quarter of 2009, announced the creation of its own mobile OS, called Bada - or ocean, in Korean. Based on Samsung's TouchWiz, Bada focuses on user interactions, services and increasing app relevance.
Samsung introduced a new smartphone platform called "Bada"-or "ocean," in
Korean-in London on Dec. 8.
The South Korea
phone maker unveiled the software development kit (SDK) for Bada and described
it as being based on its TouchWiz interface, which offers users one-touch
access to favorite applications and features. TouchWiz is included on
smartphones such as the
Android-running Samsung Behold II and the
Windows 6.5-based Samsung Omnia II.
A focus of the OS is how users interact with a device. Bada tunes into a
user with features such as flash control, Web control, motion sensing,
vibration control, face detection and sensors- "such as accelerometers, tilt,
weather, proximity and activity sensors," Samsung explained in a statement-that
enable "context-aware applications."
Another focus is on services, and Bada is said to support ties to social
networking applications, as well as device synchronization, content management,
and location- and commerce-based services.
Finally, Bada enables the sharing of information-such as personal profiles
and calendar appointments-between applications to provide each with greater
relevance to the user.
"In providing Samsung Bada, I believe that Samsung will become a true leader
in the mobile industry, offering a wider range of smartphone choices for
consumers," said Dr. Hosoo Lee, Samsung's executive vice president, in a
statement. "At the same time, Samsung Bada presents a powerful opportunity for
developers to get their applications onto an unprecedented number of Samsung
devices across the world."
In the third quarter of 2009, Samsung shipped 60.2 million handsets, which
earned it 20.7 percent share of the global handset market. According
to an Oct. 30 report from Strategy Analytics, it was the first time since 2006
that a vendor other than Nokia had shipped more than one-fifth of the world's
handsets.
"The key to Samsung's growth has been an attractive portfolio of touchphones
and an expanding retail presence across multiple regions," Neil Mawston, an
analyst with Strategy Analytics, wrote in the report.
Google
has been successfully growing attention for its Android mobile operating system,
and in September Palm
announced that it would stop using Microsoft's mobile OS in order to more fully
focus on the development of its own, WebOS. However, both know well-and
certainly BlackBerry, Nokia and Microsoft can also attest-that creating a successful
OS is only half the battle. The other part of winning supporters is the quality
and quantity of one's application offerings.
To this end, Samsung announced a Developer Challenge. Developers who use the
features of the Bada platform to build applications for Bada devices, Samsung
said in a statement, are eligible to win part of a $2.7 million prize.
Additionally, in the coming year, a series of Developer Days will be held in,
among other cities, Seoul, London
and San Francisco.
In the statement, gaming giants Capcom, EA Mobile and Gameloft expressed
enthusiasm for Bada.
"With nearly 100 million Gameloft games downloaded by Samsung users
worldwide, it is quite clear that our games on these devices have made
significant impact with consumers over the years. Utilizing the new generation
device's technological capabilities, we plan to enrich the consumer gaming
experience," said Michel Guillemot, chairman and CEO
of Gameloft.
Yusuhir Sumida, general manager of Capcom's online business division, said:
"We recognize our customers aren't all about games in their homes but want them
when they're out and about, in the palm of their hand. To help us make this
move into mobile we want to make sure we are working with the right partner.
Bada is accessible, open to all and very easy to use."
As Bada is readied to compete with Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, Limo, Maemo,
Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile, analyst
Philippe Winthrop, with Strategy Analytics, writes on his blog that for now a
prudent approach to the new platform is one of "wait and see."
Michelle Maisto has been covering the enterprise mobility space for a decade, beginning with Knowledge Management, Field Force Automation and eCRM, and most recently as the editor-in-chief of Mobile Enterprise magazine. She earned an MFA in nonfiction writing from Columbia University, and in her spare time obsesses about food. Her first book, The Gastronomy of Marriage, if forthcoming from Random House in September 2009.
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