Samsung hopes to expand to mobile software with its own "Tizen" operating system and will showcase a high-end phone running on the OS at the Mobile World Congress.
The South Korean company hopes that Tizen will attract customers as the company tries to be less dependant on Android OS and also offer a software platform that could compete with Apple's own iOS software platform.
Samsung is beating Apple on the hardware front, backed by its Galaxy smartphones, but its software ecosystem is weak. Apple's strength lies in both its hardware innovation and its iOS for its iPhones, iPads and iPod touches. In addition, hundreds of new apps for iOS are constantly released.
Developers of Android apps running on Samsung's hardware are paying theirdues not to the Korean electronics maker but to Google.
Samsung is also concerned that Google may convert Android into a more closed OS like that of Apple to increase revenue.
The Korean company is pinning its hopes on Tizen to play catch-up. By controlling both the hardware and software for its lineup, the company would increase margins.
Tizen is an open source, Linux-based OS. It is a collaboration between Samsung Intel, but Samsung owns the rights to the software development kit, the most valuable certificate of ownership.
Samsung's Tizen phone will be available this year, according to a Samsung source. The open-sourced Tizen will be available in cross-platforms like Ubuntu.
In 2010, Samsung released Bada, an open Source mobile OS. However, phones using the OS were not popular. Developers that worked on Bada are currently part of the Tizen team.
