It now seems that there is a joint effort between some of the mobile giants, to launch a new open source OS, based smart phone, to take some of the 90% market share from Google Android, Apple IOS and Blackberry. Read on for more information.
In an effort to compete with U.S. tech giants Google and Apple, NTT
Docomo Inc. is jointly developing a new operating system for smartphones
that it hopes to put on the market next year, The Yomiuri Shimbun has
learned.
Docomo, Japan's largest mobile communication company, has joined
with South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. and other firms to develop a
system that will take a larger slice of the smartphone pie.
Google and
Apple hold a 90 percent share of the market.
The ultimate aim is to form a business group that will rival the two U.S. companies.
The OS that Docomo and its partners are developing is named Tizen.
Samsung will probably begin selling the smartphones next year and they
are likely to be released in Japan and other countries at around the
same time, according to sources.
Application software products formatted for Google's Android and
Apple's iPhone devices equipped with iOS have become easier to use.
However, it is difficult for mobile phone service companies to offer
their own services, such as for Docomo's online shopping, or to improve
the safety of personal information for the smartphones equipped with
the OS products developed in the United States.
In contrast, the basic technology information used by Tizen will be
made open to the public and the OS is being developed on the premise
that mobile phone service companies will be able to offer their own
services.
According to Gartner Inc., a U.S. research company, Android held a global market share of 72.4 percent in OS products for smartphones from July to September 2012, and iOS held 13.9 percent.
Most apps were developed for the two products.
Besides Docomo, European mobile phone service companies also are
participating in the development of Tizen because they fear the hegemony
of the two U.S. companies in businesses using smartphones, such as
games and music distribution.
Docomo is the only firm among Japan's three major mobile phone service operators that does not sell iPhones.
As a result, the number of subscribers leaving Docomo for other
companies has exceeded the number of new subscribers over the past four
years, as users can retain the same telephone numbers after changing
companies.
In November, the number of canceled Docomo contracts was larger than
that of new contracts for the first time in about five years.
Docomo hopes the smartphone with the Tizen OS will reverse this trend.
Tizen's main developers are Samsung and Intel Corp., a major U.S.
semiconductor products manufacturer. Besides Docomo, Britain's Vodafone
Group PLC, France Telecom, other European mobile phone service
companies, Panasonic Corp. and NEC Corp. are involved in the
development.
The Tizen OS will be an open-source product so users can further develop or improve the software.
The development of apps for the new OS system is expected to be simpler.
Source: http://www.yomiuri.co.jp
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