Tizen: Another mobile OS from the Linux Foundation

I was a little flummoxed to read about the launch of Tizen, a new open source mobile and device operating system based on Linux. Earlier this month I wondered aloud about MeeGo, and this is the final nail in the coffin of that mobile OS, as Intel and the Linux Foundation have moved on to support Tizen instead. And Samsung has joined in.

Hmmm. This is where it gets interesting.

Samsung couldn’t “buy” MeeGo because it was an open source project. But Samsung has now joined forces with two of the three major sponsors of MeeGo in creating this new OS.

Well, well, well… if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

So what else is different with Tizen?  HTML 5. This is good for developers, but Web-based platforms have been tried before: webOS.

The Linux Foundation is pushing Tizen for use outside of the normal mobile device milieu: in-vehicle systems and consumer electronics. This may be attractive for manufacturers, as Tizen will likely be more affordable than paying for a Microsoft license.

Meanwhile, Samsung has signed a cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft that covers development and marketing of Windows phones as well as a broad patent agreement. It’s hard not to see that this agreement is an effort by Samsung to protect itself from the Android lawsuits facing its competitors.

Oh, and this just gets better — the Tizen announcement was made on the same day that Nokia released the N9, which is the first, and probably the only phone to ever run MeeGo.

Intel announced the end of MeeGo on the project’s blog, garnering some angry developer reaction, especially those who are concerned with the future of the Qt framework.

This all begs the question: How bright is the future of Tizen? Leave your thoughts and comments below.

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