Samsung releases first Tizen Smartphone in India for $92

The Z1 is a budget phone with a clear statement. Running Samsung’s open source Tizen OS, for one, shows that the company is looking for a future where their mobile devices aren’t solely dependent on Google. Moreover, the price tag shows a dedication to the market for low-budget smartphones in India despite the fierce competition from the likes of Asus, Motorola and Xiaomi.

Looking at the hardware, it is as decent as it gets for the price of 5,700 rupees. The Z1 has a 4-inch display, 768MB of Ram and an internal memory of 4GB, expandable with a microSD card. The camera is expectedly lackluster with its 3.1 megapixels.
 

The software is where it gets interesting. The open-source operating system based on Linux, Tizen, has so far only been used in wearable devices and TVs, but Samsung says it is more lightweight than Android, which can be one of the most important factor for budget smartphones. It seems that it has apps from most major developers or can at least run an emulation for Android versions, but it remains to be seen if there is enough support out there.
 

Entertainment seems to be a key aspect that Samsung wanted to emphasize on. The Z1 comes with an access to over 7,000 Hollywood and Bollywood movies and select TV shows. The subscription to the service costs 1,750 rupees ($28) yearly and the first 3 months will be reportedly free.
 

Samsung’s Z1 seems like pretty decent option for a budget smartphone, although a lot will depend on how good the Tizen app environment is. The entertainment perks just sweeten the deal, possibly to get an edge over competitors in the saturated market.