Android, iOS, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry 10 aren’t the only smartphone operating systems vying for a place in your pocket. There are other smartphone operating systems in development — and they’re all Linux-based.
Firefox OS is Mozilla’s attempt to create their own smartphone operating system. It’s based on the Firefox browser and Gecko rendering engine, with each app using web technologies like HTML5. Mozilla is launching Firefox OS devices in developing markets first.
Mozilla sees the web as the future application platform for every device. Most computer users use a web browser for most things, but people tend to use native applications on smartphones. These applications are confined to a single operating system or even a single app store. Mozilla wants to bring the open web to smartphones and replaced those native applications with web applications.
Google’s Chrome OS is a Chrome-based operating system for laptops that relies on web apps. Firefox OS is a bit like Chrome OS for smartphones.
This is clearly a backup operating system for Samsung. If they wanted to leave Google Android and go in their own direction, they could start pushing Tizen on the next Galaxy S phone — after all, Tizen is designed to look almost exactly like those Galaxy phones do today. Samsung is beginning to ship a handful of Tizen smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatchalso runs Tizen.
There’s one big problem for Samsung here — Tizen has basically no apps, as it isn’t compatible with Android apps. Samsung would have to convince Android app developers to create apps for Tizen if they wanted to leave Android behind and push their own platform. They wouldn’t have Google’s apps, either. For all we know, Samsung may just be keeping Tizen in the wings as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with Google.
Firefox OS
Firefox OS is Mozilla’s attempt to create their own smartphone operating system. It’s based on the Firefox browser and Gecko rendering engine, with each app using web technologies like HTML5. Mozilla is launching Firefox OS devices in developing markets first.
Mozilla sees the web as the future application platform for every device. Most computer users use a web browser for most things, but people tend to use native applications on smartphones. These applications are confined to a single operating system or even a single app store. Mozilla wants to bring the open web to smartphones and replaced those native applications with web applications.
Google’s Chrome OS is a Chrome-based operating system for laptops that relies on web apps. Firefox OS is a bit like Chrome OS for smartphones.
Samsung Tizen
Tizen is an open-source platform generally associated with Samsung. Tizen is actually the umbrella of the Linux Foundation, and both Samsung and Intel are on its steering committee. Samsung’s own Android “Galaxy” devices run the TouchWiz skin with Samsung’s own look, and Tizen looks very similar to TouchWiz.This is clearly a backup operating system for Samsung. If they wanted to leave Google Android and go in their own direction, they could start pushing Tizen on the next Galaxy S phone — after all, Tizen is designed to look almost exactly like those Galaxy phones do today. Samsung is beginning to ship a handful of Tizen smartphones, and the Samsung Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatchalso runs Tizen.
There’s one big problem for Samsung here — Tizen has basically no apps, as it isn’t compatible with Android apps. Samsung would have to convince Android app developers to create apps for Tizen if they wanted to leave Android behind and push their own platform. They wouldn’t have Google’s apps, either. For all we know, Samsung may just be keeping Tizen in the wings as a bargaining chip in their negotiations with Google.
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