Samsung's First Tizen Smartphone Gets Leaked

Bada by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 22:14 · Score: 5, Informative

Samsung already tried this with Bada ... and failed.
Now they are taking others on board to try to displace Google. Will it succeed? Don't think so.

Re:Bada by Stormwatch · 2014-01-28 23:06 · Score: 4, Insightful

Wasn't Bada only used in low-end devices? This one seems to be rather high-end.

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Circumcision is child abuse.
Re:Bada by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:10 · Score: 4, Funny

Will it succeed? Don't think so.
The guy writing the article is certain it'll fail. He keeps saying its like WP8.
Re:Bada by gl4ss · 2014-01-28 23:19 · Score: 1

why make it look like wp8 then?
this test device is high end.. but the devices on the end of the plan are the lower end which are currently bada, bada doesn't allow them easy enough customization and features to go easily for the better-chips cheap phones that are on the way in 2-3 years.
*** now this could have been said about some other os's years ago too. exact same fucking plan. bada already replaced their internal fuckfest of several os's with just about the same justification. also it is their insurance card against android.

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world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Re:Bada by ThePhilips · 2014-01-28 23:30 · Score: 2

Samsung Wave phones were pretty decent phones. No, not phablets with gazzilion of everything and the kitchen sink. Just a very good smartphone, with decent browser and some level customization.
On top of that, the whole premise "Samsung develops new mobile OS" is bogus. It might have been the case with Bada, but not the case with the Tizen:

The Tizen Association formed to guide the industry role of Tizen, including requirements gathering, identifying and facilitating service models, and overall industry marketing and education.[4] Members of the Tizen Association represent every major sector of the mobility industry and every region of the world. Current members include operators, OEMs and computing leaders: Fujitsu, Huawei, Intel Corporation, KT, NEC CASIO Mobile Communications, NTT DOCOMO, Orange, Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung, SK Telecom, Sprint and Vodafone.
What's more, Tizen isn't particularly "new". Not only there are tried bits of LiMo and Bada inside, but there were already several releases for the "In-Vehicle-Infotainment".

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Re:Bada by RyuuzakiTetsuya · 2014-01-28 23:38 · Score: 1

Why the fuck are telecoms involved?
That just stinks. Just what we need, more telecom control over a smartphone OS.

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Non impediti ratione cogitationus.
Re:Bada by ThePhilips · 2014-01-28 23:49 · Score: 3, Informative

By whom do you think the telecom developers are employed?
Telecoms do lots of development and are involved in lots of connected things. There is no way around it.
Anyway, I'd rather first wait for the Tizen phones to arrive and then evaluate them. Considering the race to bottom Google has choosen as a path forward for Android, Tizen might get a fair chance in the market. That, of course, if the Tizen would be even comparable to Android.

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Re:Bada by hawkinspeter · 2014-01-29 00:29 · Score: 1

Isn't a "race to the bottom" just a natural consequence of a competitive market working properly?

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You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Re:Bada by Thantik · 2014-01-29 00:37 · Score: 2, Insightful

This is the difference between real capitalism, and American capitalism. In real capitalism, you naturally get a race to the bottom. In American capitalism, you get government protectionism to keep your antiquated, inflated business practices afloat while you strip people of every penny you can.
Re:Bada by fatphil · 2014-01-29 00:58 · Score: 1

Samsung were much smaller at the time. They are now pretty much dominant, with a good name, and plenty of marketting muscle.

One of the benefits of Tizen is that it does run on both low end devices and high end ones, so they've got plenty of pots to dip their paws into. It's lower maintenance than Android, as there's much more standard upstream packages, less specific to the platform, and it's way-way-way more open than any other platform. (Though not quite as much as I would have liked.) Will it succeed? I'd like to see it do so, but think it might require a little bit of good fortune.

Disclaimer: last job was working on Tizen for Samsung, parted not on the best of terms, but no grudges borne in either direction.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Bada by MrDoh! · 2014-01-29 01:00 · Score: 1

With Samsung throwing masses of cash at it, it should get a decent enough market share. There'll be a fair few people going into these new Samsung physical stores wanting 'a Samsung phone' and they'll be pushed to these over Android.

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Waiting for an amusing sig.
Re:Bada by gbjbaanb · 2014-01-29 01:01 · Score: 0

why make it look like wp8 then?
because if they made it look like Android, they'd get patent-sued by Apple for copying their look and feel :-)
Re:Bada by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:24 · Score: 1

Tizen has the Linux foundation, many hardware vendors (along others Intel), and an open source community behind it. This should make it fairly dissimilar from their Bada attempt, no?
Re:Bada by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:45 · Score: 0

Why the fuck are telecoms involved?
Because the phones run on their networks?
Re:Bada by the_B0fh · 2014-01-29 02:58 · Score: 1

I could have sworn Samsung only recently joined Tizen, so they weren't even part of the founders of Tizen.
Re:Bada by the_B0fh · 2014-01-29 02:59 · Score: 1

Android has a Linux and Java foundation too...
Re:Bada by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 03:02 · Score: 3, Insightful

(Posting AC because I'm at work and I don't log into websites from work not because I'm unwilling to put my name behind my post.)
That is simply one of the most moronic things I've read on Slashdot in quite some time.
Or, to put it in a car analogy so you understand why I think you're utterly daft, please ask yourself which auto manufacturers make the high end cars that don't care about competing on price and which manufacturers are primarily interested in being just a bit cheaper than their competitors.
To put it simply, some manufacturers are offering the same grapple grommet as the next guy so the only way to compete is via price while other manufacturers are offering a lot more and are targeting a more affluent market and thus don't compete on price. American vs non-American has absolutely NOTHING to do with that equation.
And, no, I'm not American so this has nothing to do with defending "my" national pride. This is simply me calling out a moron for a moronic comment.
Re:Bada by ThePhilips · 2014-01-29 03:32 · Score: 2

I haven't followed Tizen much previously. As far as I know, it picked up quite a lot from other previous Linux-based mobile OSs. Samsung AFAIK played big role in the push into mobile phones by bringing in the components from Bada (the interface for non-native, managed run-time) and also the Android compatibility layer. (Interesting bit: Nokia provided to Tizen the navigation app and maps.)
My interested in Tizen piqued only recently, when updates for Google Apps started removing functionality and crippling battery life. And when I actually have tried Google's Android Pure phones and realized just how much work the OEMs invest into making out of it something tad more useful. Samsung/Sony/HTC/LG have quite a lot of expertise in the area apparently and it is absolutely feasible for them to develop a mobile OS on their own.

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Re:Bada by tlhIngan · 2014-01-29 04:29 · Score: 2

Isn't a "race to the bottom" just a natural consequence of a competitive market working properly?
Only to a point.
A race to the bottom can hit a natural limit under which the only way to make it cheaper is to cut corners. See $500 laptops, cheap LCD monitors, etc, where the GPU is Intel, the screen 1366x768, etc. High res screens are available, but spendy ($300 on sale vs. $80 for 1920x1200 vs. 1080p screens, $500 laptops vs. $1000+ laptops, etc).
You see it on Android too - the flagship phones sell tons, but they're a tiny drop in the bucket (10% or so of the Android market). Everyone sells way more of the free-with-contract style phones with shit CPUs, shit RAM, shit screens, or all three.
Hell, you know it's screwy when Samsung can release a Galaxy Mega - 5" of 480x800 goodness!
Re:Bada by lexman098 · 2014-01-29 04:36 · Score: 1

Now they are taking others on board to try to displace Google.
But why would they want to? It can't be for the cost..
Re:Bada by hawkinspeter · 2014-01-29 04:39 · Score: 1

That sounds like a market working correctly. Most people want a cheap phone rather than the expensive flagship model and thus the market is selling more of the cheap phones.

480x800 sounds more than enough for most phone functions. Probably a bit small for doing any web browsing, but in my experience people would rather browse the web on a larger screen anyway. It depends on what you want, but a lot of people would buy a cheap phone (gonna drop/break/lose it soon anyway) and a cheap tablet rather than just an expensive phone.

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You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Re:Bada by fatphil · 2014-01-29 05:22 · Score: 1

It can. They pay Google to ship Android on their devices.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Bada by fatphil · 2014-01-29 05:36 · Score: 1

Well, this would have been my source:
http://www.theguardian.com/info/2014/jan/27/1
But they pulled it, as apparently it's not the case any more. Things must have changed several times in the last few years, as I've heard of costs higher than 75c/unit historically.

Presumably they get all the money just from (advertisers who want) users using their services.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Bada by thetoadwarrior · 2014-01-29 07:26 · Score: 1

Why not. They've made Android successful and own its market so why not try and cut Google out before they try and ruin it?
Re:Bada by gnasher719 · 2014-01-29 07:54 · Score: 2

Isn't a "race to the bottom" just a natural consequence of a competitive market working properly?
Not at all. Quite the opposite, actually. "Race to the bottom" happens in a product category where the buyer cannot easily determine which value is worth more. Let's say a $1,000 laptop and a $1,100 laptop that has a better battery, longer lasting keyboard and some other advantages that you only figure out after using it for two years. Since the customer can't see a difference, they buy then one for $1,000 even if they would prefer the $1,100 one if they had known the advantages.

So what happens? The company making the $1,100 laptop doesn't sell any, replaces the good parts with less good parts, and sells their laptop for $900. People buy it, so the parts in the $1,000 laptop get replaced with parts that aren't good at all. And so on and so on. In the end, everyone sells cheap rubbish. That's "race to the bottom".

In the computer market, Apple managed quite nicely to stay out of the "race to the bottom". And ultrabooks are everyone else's attempt to climb away from the bottom. And obviously I'd rather pay $400 for a laptop than $1,000, but on the other hand I know that $400 for rubbish is wasted money while $1,000 for quality isn't. So "race to the bottom" means that everyone suffers. Manufacturers who don't make money, and customers who get crap for their money.

So in a well-working competitive market, I would have a choice between expensive quality products, and cheap rubbish products. My choice. "Race to the bottom" means there is only cheap rubbish.
Re:Bada by hawkinspeter · 2014-01-29 08:07 · Score: 1

I see, I hadn't really considered it like that.

I think the tech market is somewhat different to most markets in that a good product today is an obsolete product (still functional, but not desired) in a years time. This means that companies can easily get away with rubbish components as most tech is virtually disposable. In markets with longer product lifespans, it's easier for quality manufacturers to distinguish themselves and get a name for quality, but most people don't care if a laptop from 10 years ago still has a great keyboard (or at least I don't).

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You're a temporary arrangement of matter sliding towards oblivion in a cold, uncaring universe
Re:Bada by citizenr · 2014-01-29 08:31 · Score: 1

but spendy ($300 on sale vs. $800 for 1920x1200 vs. 1080p screens, $500 laptops vs. $1000+ laptops, etc).
Price difference between shit on a stick 1366x768 panel, and a proper 1920x1200 (or even 2K) one is about $20-40. The only other thing you need to change in the whole laptop to swap screens is flex strip connecting lcd with mb because new screen needs two LVDS channels (or is eDP instead of lvds).
As you can see they dont make those shitty ~720p laptops because of component cost. They force this shit on us to artificially create "luxury" (read not totally shitty) market segment.

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Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
Re:Bada by azrael29a · 2014-01-30 11:23 · Score: 1

Bada dum tsss!

I don't think so by loufoque · 2014-01-28 22:15 · Score: 4, Insightful

Being one of the top hardware vendors doesn't magically enable you to write good software.

Re:I don't think so by dwater · 2014-01-28 22:29 · Score: 0, Redundant

It doesn't rule it out either...

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Max.
Re:I don't think so by gnasher719 · 2014-01-28 22:31 · Score: 1

Being one of the top hardware vendors doesn't magically enable you to write good software.
It might make you code at producing gazillions of ROMs, or flash drives, or DVDs, containing the good software, because that's what hardware is about, but it doesn't make you good at writing good software.
Re:I don't think so by Tsolias · 2014-01-28 22:59 · Score: 2

Being one of the top of anything can help you become the top of something else. Do you know what you need to make good sw? good programmers. Do you know what you need to get them? money. Does Samsung have money? Yes. So, can Samsung be a company with good software, if its CEO wants it? Yes. Does the hw business help you make good sw? Yes. Do you know how? OFC, you have your own platform that sells like shit and then you can make the sw and optimize it for you own platform. Do you know any other company that does that? Yes. Apple. Apple makes good hw or sw? None of them, but both of the combined give a great result because they design both and know how to hide each ones flaws. In the end, Samsung became what it is today and it started as a fruit/vegetable vendor IIRC.
Re:I don't think so by jones_supa · 2014-01-28 23:00 · Score: 1

Being one of the top hardware vendors doesn't magically enable you to write good software.
Actually being one of the top hardware vendors does magically enable you to write good software.
Re:I don't think so by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2014-01-28 23:17 · Score: 5, Insightful

It doesn't rule it out either...
There's no general-case connection; but this is Samsung we are talking about here, so it's pretty safe to assume that anything they added will be about as classy as the bloatware on a Best Buy HP-Compaq at the bottom of the price range...

If we are lucky, the BSP side might not be a total failure; but Samsung makes a hell of a mess when they try app development, at least on their android devices.
Re:I don't think so by loufoque · 2014-01-29 00:04 · Score: 1

Not at all. Hardware-centric people are known for writing very bad software.
Re:I don't think so by loufoque · 2014-01-29 00:06 · Score: 2

You need money, but money is not sufficient to get good programmers of the level they'd need to be able to compete with iOS and Android.
Re: I don't think so by __aagigi1968 · 2014-01-29 00:08 · Score: 0

with some very,very iffy behaviour in between the two points of samsungs growth. would samsung be the size it is today,if it had been in a more closely scrutinised and enforcement regime,say,the e.u,probably not,the e.u had/has some firms with very iffy records,but samsung would have been stomped on by e.u commision etc if they tried the same thing as at home. like many of the bigger/richer corps,ms,apple,etc samsung have some very dealings in its early history,many would just say pure criminal behaviour,proving once again that crime pays,realy big crimes pay realy well.
Re:I don't think so by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 00:20 · Score: 0

It does give your software a chance to get a good adoption boost though.
Re:I don't think so by w_dragon · 2014-01-29 00:41 · Score: 1

HP being a good example. Their hardware is generally solid, but every piece of software they're associated with is crap. This includes drivers, most firmware, and pure software (QTP is overpriced and broken, their diameter api crashes as often as it works). I suspect that the process for building good hardware is so different from the process for good software that companies have trouble doing both.
Re:I don't think so by gbjbaanb · 2014-01-29 01:07 · Score: 1

true, the best programmers (like CEOs) work more for the joy of working. Those who only come because you throw bucketloads of cash at them tend to be interested in only 1 thing, and that ain't the work you need them doing.
Still, from another post: "Samsung uses EFL as UI framework and has in it's payroll Carsten Haitzler (Rasterman) and Cedric Bail, the main developers of Enlightenment".
Doesn't sound too bad now.
Re:I don't think so by east+coast · 2014-01-29 01:44 · Score: 1

I don't even know why they would. A new OS could be written to run Androids current apps, sure, but further fragmentation of the ecosystem wouldn't help either party and Samsung has the most to lose. They know this.

I'm all for a multiOS mobile culture today. I've owned phones with 4 distinctly different OSs on them and each has their pros and cons. I just don't feel that yet another player, even the size of Samsung, is going to make much headway in the current market. Though I will say Samsung is probably in the best position of any hardware manufacturer to do this. If they felt that they could do it I would be interested in seeing what they bring to the table, I just don't see Samsung benefiting overall from leaving the established OSs.

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Dedicated Cthulhu Cultist since 4523 BC.
Re:I don't think so by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:47 · Score: 0

I work as a software vendor to a major Asian OEM in Asia.
No matter what talent they attract, the culture of traditional east Asian companies is antithetical innovative software. I have watched time after time as $COMPANY hires a top-end design/software firm to improve things and their suggestions are thrown out by an out of touch 60+ year old C-suite. In addition to this, Asia doesn't really have the developed VC infrastructure that would allow these extremely bright young guys to build their own company, with blackjack and hookers.
My company admittedly makes shitty out of date software, but that's exactly what the leadership likes, because they still think the world is in the year 1999-2003.
Re:I don't think so by DontBlameCanada · 2014-01-29 02:07 · Score: 2

It doesn't rule it out either...
From my experience working with and for HW-centric companies, they all view SW as a zero-revenue expense. As such, they don't invest in the people, tools and processes that make for successful software products.

I'd tend to think being a top h/w vendor is actually a detriment to delivering good software.
Re:I don't think so by the_B0fh · 2014-01-29 03:53 · Score: 1

Seeing that the S4 uses double the storage of the base Android, yeah it does, since whatever they added does not double the value you get out of the phone, compared to base Android.
Re:I don't think so by SeanBlader · 2014-01-29 03:58 · Score: 1

This is pretty accurate historically. Examples include Intel, Dell, Samsung, Apple, Cisco, Sony, Logitech, etc. Basically if you make hardware you are typically an absolutely terrible software maker. It isn't even about the developers, it's about management, who's always in the way of innovative software development. It works conversely as well, historically software companies don't do hardware very well either, look at Microsoft, and Google, they both send out their hardware to others to be made.
Re:I don't think so by gutnor · 2014-01-29 05:21 · Score: 1

That's not just the developers that are the problem. The overall environment need to be adapted for those developers to work: what are the processes, the managers, IT, environments, ... I have seen shop where corporate policy prevent a developer to be admin, install software and use another browser than IE7. Others where you have several months of lead time to setup a new database test server, where you cannot run a compiler locally, where only a manager can access the source control system. where bugs cannot be reported internally outside of an official testing phase, where all the feature of the software need to be vetted through a stakeholder committee composed of people with no experience that will never use the software, ...
That's what kills enterprise software.
Re:I don't think so by hajile · 2014-01-29 12:53 · Score: 2

Tizen's biggest problem is samsung. Here's a chat log where rasterman (head of EFL used by Tizen in the background -- they aren't allowing anything but webapps by third parties)

https://www.tizen.org/irclogs/...

He talks about how stagnant and copycat the Samsung development bureaucracy is and how it's practically impossible to make any real innovative moves in development.

Another major issue is that the Tizen SDK (despite all the "Linux Foundation" mantra) is proprietary and gives Samsung near complete control of your code. I don't see any developer agreeing to those terms when he/she is already risking so much on a new OS to begin with.
Re:I don't think so by dwater · 2014-01-29 13:55 · Score: 1

hrm, I wonder...I have noticed on my travels the ubiquity of non-Google Android devices. I wonder if the value of *those* is doubled.
I am, of course, assuming you mean, by 'base Android', the one which is installed on Nexus devices - ie it doesn't have all the manufacturer-added software? If you instead consider 'base Android' to be what is available for free, then perhaps it does indeed add value since it is otherwise quite simple, constituting just a platform.
I think people in 'the west' seem to think Android is only the one that has the Google services/apps/etc, since that seems to be the only one available. In China, for example, I've yet to see such an Android device, and yet there are plenty of non-Google Android devices...perhaps the s/w added by Samsung is adding value to *those* devices.
Of course, that wouldn't excuse them from also adding the s/w to the devices that *do* have Google services/etc...
I'm not sure if my suggestion is actually the case, just wondering.

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Max.
Re:I don't think so by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 16:32 · Score: 0

Yeah, just ask Microsoft. Xbox, natural keyboard, sidewinder gamepad, the ubiquitous ergonomic mouse - and crap software
Re:I don't think so by q.kontinuum · 2014-01-29 20:40 · Score: 1

Old joke: What's the most dangerous hazard in a lab? A software developer who got hands on a soldering iron
Typical reply: What's the most dangerous hazard in SW development? An electrical engineer who gained access to the compiler.
(Both somewhat true, although both with exceptions.)

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Trolling is a art!

Not At MWC 2014 by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 22:17 · Score: 0

FTFA:

Unfortunately, we might not see the phone at MWC 2014, as our source indicates that the launch has been pushed further to accommodate other launches (psstâ¦ Galaxy S5).

So I guess whomever wrote the summary didn't read all the way to the bottom of the 2nd link.

Re:Not At MWC 2014 by SmartAboutThings · 2014-01-28 22:20 · Score: 1

FTFA:

Unfortunately, we might not see the phone at MWC 2014, as our source indicates that the launch has been pushed further to accommodate other launches (psstâ¦ Galaxy S5).
So I guess whomever wrote the summary didn't read all the way to the bottom of the 2nd link.
No, just that when I submitted it, we didn't have that information at our disposal

Lawsuits pending by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 22:25 · Score: -1

Apple will undoubtedly claim to have invented some obscure detail, and insist that the product be banned here in the States. Unless, of course, it's a flop... Apple doesn't design flops.

Re:Lawsuits pending by Savage-Rabbit · 2014-01-28 23:05 · Score: 1

The phone design is very similar to Galaxy phones, while the UI reminds us of Windows Phone 8.
Apple will undoubtedly claim to have invented some obscure detail, and insist that the product be banned here in the States. Unless, of course, it's a flop... Apple doesn't design flops.
You are really grasping at straws if you want to start an Apple hate frenzy over this. According to TFA summary it would appear that it's more likely Microsoft's turn to sue Samsung's ass off over copycatting the Windows 8 UI (and that's assuming that Microsoft will even bother).

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Only to idiots, are orders laws.
-- Henning von Tresckow
Re:Lawsuits pending by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2014-01-28 23:20 · Score: 2

Even if Samsung did something blatantly actionable (wherever that point lies, 'look and feel' lawsuits seem a bit subjective), it would be interesting to see if Microsoft did anything about it. They certainly aren't shy about lawsuits in general; but they might actually be pleased to see a major Android OEM spitting out some non-Android devices that might help fragment the non-WinPhone market (both by adding another OS to the mix, and by likely encouraging Samsung to cultivate a variety of APIs and services that devs can use on any Samsung device, Android or Tizen, with a little abstraction; but not on other manufacturer's takes on those OSes)...
Re: Lawsuits pending by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:37 · Score: 0, Funny

Hope it doesn't have rounded corners...
Re:Lawsuits pending by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:41 · Score: 0

I guess we know which Apple fanboi downmodded the post.
Re:Lawsuits pending by coofercat · 2014-01-29 01:52 · Score: 1

They'd probably sue them just to give them some credibility ;-)

Am I doing it wrong? by issicus · 2014-01-28 22:37 · Score: -1, Offtopic

Typing on a touch screen SUCKS, why do people buy these things?

Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Stormwatch · 2014-01-28 23:08 · Score: 2

Who buys a smartphone to type a sizable amount of text?

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Circumcision is child abuse.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · 2014-01-28 23:23 · Score: 4, Insightful

Typing on a touch screen SUCKS, why do people buy these things?
Space constraints. With a touchscreen, your typing sucks; but you recover all the keyboard space for viewing whenever you aren't typing. If you want a hard keyboard, you either chop the bottom third of the screen, or add nontrivial thickness and mechanical complexity for a folding or sliding keyboard.

Damned if I can understand the freak kids who seem to enjoy typing with their thumbs on a featureless pane of glass; but it isn't really hard to see why screens larger than the classic blackberry layout allowed have taken over, given that using tiny screens is also pretty miserable.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Thanshin · 2014-01-28 23:28 · Score: 1

Because it's hard to connect the bluetooth keyboard to a coffee mug.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by fatphil · 2014-01-28 23:32 · Score: 2

Those who type a sizeable amount of text, but don't want to carry a laptop around with them. Such as me. I'm perfectly happy with my Nokia N900 with its slide-out keyboard.

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Also FatPhil on SoylentNews, id 863
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:37 · Score: 1

Typing on a touch screen SUCKS, why do people buy these things?
Typing on an Ipad sucks.
Swypeing doesn't. In fact swypeing is much faster than typing but you Apple hipsters wouldn't know that.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:15 · Score: 0

Typing on ANY touch screen device sucks. I have swype but still hate it.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by gmuslera · 2014-01-29 01:57 · Score: 1

Who carries a sizable amount of computing power virtually everywhere? And answering a mail, taking note of an idea you just had, or doing a post in some social site may need some sizable amount of text, without building around you a whole desktop just for that or limiting your capacity of expression to write just "ok" in all those situations.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:05 · Score: -1

"I don't need a keyboard because I don't use my phone in that way. Therefore, no one else does either."
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:20 · Score: 0

Because they just learned to do it instead of whining about how it SUCKS?
I mean yeah, for the first 3 months or so, it sucks. Then it's fine. Move on, this isn't 2009 any more.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:40 · Score: 0

i had to look up Swype,
i really can see no benefit to me logging all my keystrokes, tie them to my phones ESN as a GUID along with my hardware list and then give (lol it gets better) full network access to a US companies "cloud" for "statistics" or the random NSL/Keystone Cops Warrant.
Sad that even a fucking virtual keyboard company cant resist the parasitic bandwagon of track/trace/trap/SPOF your users, just cant just sell a solution and fuck off, gotta have a store, and a "Cloud".
if your keyboard code has a network stack something is already wrong.
I'll stick for now with typing slowly on a non-mitm stock keyboard thanks.
http://forum.swype.com/showthr...
http://www.swype.com/footer/pr...
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by serviscope_minor · 2014-01-29 03:32 · Score: 1

I have owned several phones with swype (including current one).
I've also owned and had gread use out of a Zaurus CL3100.
Swype is far better than an onscreen keyboard. I actually forked out for swype since my new phone didn't come with it. Swype is a pile of crap to a proper miniture keyboard. Swype makes replying to emails bearable.
You can actually do serious work on a proper mini keyboard.

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 03:36 · Score: 0

There have been novel designs to help overcome the pains of typing on a touchscreen... such as swipe to type (e.g. Swiftkey, Touchpal, etc. on Android).
Yes, it's still not as fast as a regular keyboard, but it's on par with an actual mobile sized keyboard, IMO.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by regular_gonzalez · 2014-01-29 05:59 · Score: 1

I used to feel the same way, going so far as basing smartphone purchases entirely on the keyboard (Touch Pro and Touch Pro 2, both of which had best-in-class hardware keyboards. Got those despite the WinMo interface they came with). The days of lousy on screen keyboards are in the past. I can Swype far faster than I could ever type on a 4" keyboard (with keys that were measured in millimeters). Is my input speed up to the ~100 wpm I can type on my desktop keyboard? No, but I doubt anyone can do that regardless of hard or soft phone keyboard. It's much higher than one might expect though -- if I had to guess, I'd say it's in the mid 30s to 40ish and I'd feel confident challenging anyone who is still inputting on a hard keyboard.

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Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am master of my fate and captain of my soul.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by steveg · 2014-01-29 06:19 · Score: 1

"No true Scotsman?"
My first smartphone was the OG Droid, largely because it came with a physical keyboard.
I hated it. When the Swype beta came along I pretty much stopped using the physical keyboard, and never got another phone with a hardware keyboard. I haven't missed them.
You might tell me, well, that wasn't a very good physical keyboard, and maybe you're right. So what would make a "proper" mini keyboard?

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Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by bob_super · 2014-01-29 07:47 · Score: 1

First, it requires constant focused attention because there is no tactile feedback.
Second, I type too often in various languages (spoken or technical) and have to disable all help and autocorrection, not because they're bad at English, but because they're wasting my time correcting stuff that they can't understand.
Therefore, I will keep using a slide-out keyboard for as long as they are available, because for all-important-me it's massively more efficient.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by serviscope_minor · 2014-01-29 23:59 · Score: 1

You might tell me, well, that wasn't a very good physical keyboard, and maybe you're right. So what would make a "proper" mini keyboard?
Good question, I don't know exactly. It's something of a "I know it when I see it". If you dig back through old reviews, the Zaurus keyboard gets excellent ratings and generally comes up as the second best mini keyboard ever made. Apparently the first is the Psion 5. I've never used one though.
I don't think it's a no true scotsman kind of deal, since there are measurable differences between the things much as with normal and laptop keyboards.
The Zaurus keyboard looks like a chiclet one but is not. The keys are stiff, have a small amount of travel and engage with a nice, positive click action. They're also somewhat well separated and while I'm not massively ham fisted, I do have decent sized fingers and hands, but I never found a problem hitting the keys reliably, quicklyand without error.
Bear in mind it's the form factor of a mini laptop. I found with a little practice, I could more or less 3-finger touch type on it. Since the screen hinges properly, it's not always pointing the same way as the screen, unlike the slide-out keyboard on many phones. I expect that also helps a great deal.
I was actually writing my thesis at the time that was current and wrot a non-trivial amount on that keyboard (in LaTeX, no less) since I was travelling a lot at the time and owned no laptops (also laptop battery life sucked then and you could take a stack of AAs and an adapter to power the zaurus indefinitely). It was not at all like the qwerty thumb-typing keyboards I've seen people use on some phones.
By comparison, I use my phone for email quite a lot. It's pretty usable with Swype, and I can do decent replies without being limited to the wretchedly terse style often sent from phones. I wouldn't want to do anything comparable to what I did on the zaurus, though. That would be impossibly frustrating.

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SJW n. One who posts facts.
Re:Am I doing it wrong? by steveg · 2014-01-30 10:28 · Score: 1

Well, that Zaurus keyboard does look a lot more usable than my OG Droid was, but it also looks quite a bit bigger. Not hard to do -- my current phone might be a size match for the Zaurus.
And yes, I can't imagine using Swype to do any kind of markup. It would always end up trying to "fix" your spelling.

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Ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed.

Competition is always good by rodrigoandrade · 2014-01-28 22:47 · Score: 4, Interesting

Yes, I think Tizen will ultimately flop for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being the fact that Samsung will need to support THREE different operating systems.

But in the end, competition is always good for consumers. Bring it on!!

Re:Competition is always good by hattig · 2014-01-28 22:58 · Score: 2

Does Tizen support Android apps in any manner? (i.e., in a manner like BlackBerry 10 supports Android apps).
If not, the software ecosystem is going to be very poor, and kill the device.
If it does, then third-party native software is probably never going to get written.
Re:Competition is always good by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:44 · Score: 1

Does Tizen support Android apps in any manner? (i.e., in a manner like BlackBerry 10 supports Android apps).
If not, the software ecosystem is going to be very poor, and kill the device.
If it does, then third-party native software is probably never going to get written.
By that logic, no new platform will ever be able to succeed.
Current trends might make that seem right, but don't forget -- every platform was new once and they all started with a tiny ecosystem, even the ones that are successful now.
Re:Competition is always good by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:47 · Score: 1

Yes, it's supposed to have an emulation layer. If this provides for proper management of app rights, I would much rather run Android apps on Tizen than natively.
Re:Competition is always good by Tom · 2014-01-29 00:21 · Score: 2

But in the end, competition is always good for consumers.
Actually, I don't think that's always true. The smartphone market is a good example for why. First, you end up with 1000 different Android phones (let's ignore iOS for the moment) that have tiny differences amongst themselves, leading to a choice paradox (you can't decide because there's so many options).
Second, because the market is so crowded with so many so similar products, it's hard for a vendor to really innovate. What we see is rapid evolution, but not innovation - everyone is moving forward at breakneck speed, but few are moving sideways, exploring different options. The form factor, for example, has largely standardized on the iPhone +/- some deviation in size. But curved shapes are gone, even though we had them in the pre-smartphone mobile market. And that's just one example.
Third, much of the competition is more show than real. How many players are actually in the market? Where are the small, innovative underdogs? Are there any local players? No, much of the "competition" is not even between companies, but departments of companies - will you get the XYZ-400 or the XYZ-500?

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Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Re:Competition is always good by rajupp · 2014-01-29 00:58 · Score: 1

Does Tizen support Android apps in any manner? (i.e., in a manner like BlackBerry 10 supports Android apps).
Yes, It will support sideloading of Android apps
Re:Competition is always good by gmuslera · 2014-01-29 02:02 · Score: 2

Sailfish, that is a Tizen cousin, can run android apps in a similar way that does BB10. And if it supports QT will have easier to port native apps from Meego (that have already a good enough core apps package), native BB10 ones, or even Ubuntu Touch.
Re:Competition is always good by Microlith · 2014-01-29 04:24 · Score: 1

Competition is good, but in markets like the US where the mobile space is functionally broken due to the business models of the carriers, you can't enjoy innovation.

How many players are actually in the market?
Shockingly few, mostly those willing to crank out new handsets every 6 months (Samsung, HTC, et. al.) to comply with carrier demands or the single US example of Apple, who can build a single hardware platform and deliver one new handset to carriers per year.

Where are the small, innovative underdogs?
There are some minor players trying to do new things, but none of them sell into the US. The carriers and gorillas like Apple and Microsoft make it too dangerous.
Which is just how they want it. A stagnant market that is safe from competition.
Re:Competition is always good by Sockatume · 2014-01-29 04:47 · Score: 1

How is three different ways to give Samsung your money "competition"?

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No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
Re:Competition is always good by LordVader717 · 2014-01-29 08:41 · Score: 1

'The form factor, for example, has largely standardized on the iPhone +/- some deviation in size."
That's a bit disingenuous. You have almost every vendor offering tiny 3 inch smartphoned and their range goes all the way up to 5 inches, with 6inch "phablets" filling the gap to tablets.
I don't see any lack of design variety either. Rounded or square, Metal or plastic, thick or thin, and soon curved screens are all taking part. You also have some very risky type of gimmicks, like waterproof phones and a smart watch.
And there are certainly quite a few players in the market. The big ones are the likes of Samsung Sony Motorola LG, whilst the Underdogs are the chinese brands like Oppo, Gionee and countless others
Re:Competition is always good by Tom · 2014-01-29 09:09 · Score: 1

That's a bit disingenuous. You have almost every vendor offering tiny 3 inch smartphoned and their range goes all the way up to 5 inches, with 6inch "phablets" filling the gap to tablets.
You are talking about size. I was talking about form factor.
Oh wow, some have rounded edges! Sorry, you weren't around in the first mobile phone market, were you?

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Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
Re:Competition is always good by breeze95 · 2014-01-29 12:15 · Score: 1

Does Tizen support Android apps in any manner? (i.e., in a manner like BlackBerry 10 supports Android apps).
If not, the software ecosystem is going to be very poor, and kill the device.
If it does, then third-party native software is probably never going to get written.
By that logic, no new platform will ever be able to succeed.
Current trends might make that seem right, but don't forget -- every platform was new once and they all started with a tiny ecosystem, even the ones that are successful now.
New platforms will find it difficult to succeed in a world dominated by Google and Apple. Just look at Microsoft's efforts. For all Microsoft's name recognition, market clout, an unlimited marketing budget and over 3 years of trying their market share for smart phones is about 5% and less than 10% for tablets. The average Consumer will think why should they buy a Tizen device over an Android or iPhone. What is the compelling reason that consumers should buy yet another smart phone OS? My prediction, Tizen will never see market share over 3%.
Re:Competition is always good by LordVader717 · 2014-01-29 15:13 · Score: 1

Maybe you should elaborate your argument instead of being so pretentious.
The popular GSM phones of the late 90s were candybars with numeric keypads.
In case you didn't know, you can still buy these phones, ranging from the most basic to relatively sophisticated feature phones. They don't run Smartphone OSs which require large touchscreens.
Furthermore there have been recent attempts at selling smartphone flip phones and sliders which were popular in the 2000s. The reason you don't see more is because they don't sell so well (probably because they don't make much sense).
It seems you're either lamenting the fact that they don't make phones that never existed in the first place or you're just clueless about what's out there.

I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Zaatxe · 2014-01-28 22:50 · Score: 4, Interesting

...if they ditch Android, I'll ditch Samsung.

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So say we all

Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 22:58 · Score: 1

...if they ditch Android, I'll ditch Samsung.
I bet they are shaking in their boots
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Herve5 · 2014-01-28 23:46 · Score: 1

Well, for me seeing an operational open-source OS on a phone would indeed *trigger* my first buying of a Samsung phone.
I own an Openmoko, have carefully reviewed the Jolla phone recently (alas: not operational, IMHO) and believe Samsung indeed is capable to succeed here.

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Herve S.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by q.kontinuum · 2014-01-28 23:49 · Score: 3, Interesting

Actually, Tizen might be a reason for me to give them a shot. Unless I get a budget-friendly device with Sailfish OS first :-)

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Trolling is a art!
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 00:33 · Score: -1

What do you need the source code for?
Re: I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 00:56 · Score: 0

I like Samsung, but Im getting increasingly disquested with Google and Android. So I believe this is a good thing. I will never buy another device with Android or Windows 8 on it.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Herve5 · 2014-01-29 01:10 · Score: 0

What for?
For not being locked in a single App market. Like Apple's. Like Google's.
In a word : to avoid monopolies.
That's very stubborn, I know. But I suffered a lot from this, in many areas, so now I can see them very well...

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Herve S.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Herve5 · 2014-01-29 01:16 · Score: 1

Just some weeks ago I was ready to pay a premium to get a Jolla phone (with Sailfish); I went up to registering into Sailfish newsgroups etc.
Honestly, and it's sad to say: the OS looks cool but there are just no applications at all. Not even a decent email, not even an ad-filter.
I sincerely hope Jolla succeeds, but I cannot invest now hoping next year the phone will work.
In contrast the enormous size of Samsung (an issue of its own) may at least bring a machine that works upon switchon...
But I'll definitely keep an eye on both :-)

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Herve S.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:19 · Score: 0

What do you need the source code for?
Maybe he's a programmer and likes to see what is going on or participate in fixing bugs? It 's like some of us who choose our electronics purchases based on whether or not we can get a schematic.
Re: I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:22 · Score: 0

I don't need it, and personally I wouldn't look at it, but just knowing it's 100% open source would greatly increase my trust of the operating system. Knowing there are no NSA backdoors or adware, for instance.
Re: I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by jones_supa · 2014-01-29 01:39 · Score: 1

That really works only for systems like OpenBSD where the code is truly audited and not just signed off. Linux is developed by a chain of trust, which works well, but outside that does not guarantee that there are not backdoors. So for the best results you want 100% open source and 100% audited code.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:41 · Score: 0

What? It's the manufacturer's responsibility to fix the bugs for me. I paid for the product.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:43 · Score: 0

All right, I understand, as you said you have suffered a lot from that. That still sounds incredibly impractical and clunky.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Kryptonian+Jor-El · 2014-01-29 01:46 · Score: 4, Informative

Android has multiple app stores, and actually has apps to fill them with. Your argument is invalid

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All your 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 are belong to us
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:17 · Score: 1

But... Android doesn't lock you into one app store. There's F-Droid, Amazon, Yandex, and Opera app stores at the very least, and probably others I'm unaware of.
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by q.kontinuum · 2014-01-29 10:53 · Score: 2

SailfishOS has an Android runtime, so Android apps should run on the device. They also plan to provide images compatible with standard Android hardware, claiming that e.g. in the Chinese market it is common for users to pimp their phones with custom roms. So, I might wait for first reviews on how well the compatibility-layer works, but if it works I wouldn't be concerned about lack of apps.

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Trolling is a art!
Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... by Herve5 · 2014-01-31 09:15 · Score: 1

Android locks me with Google. It baffles me there are people *here on /.* that can't see it.
Seriously -to me this is a sign /. is evolving, but not to the better...

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Herve S.

what? is /. now a by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 22:58 · Score: -1

cellphone advertiser? who gives a romeo alpha about some new phone?

sheesh, /. is turning into 'News for 'Tards'

Been there .... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:02 · Score: 0

I have a Samsung tocca ultra .... thank Google for Android!

C'mon Samsung by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:03 · Score: 1

Is that same Samsung which:

- Doesnt upgrade Android for their previous (not old) hardware?
- Provide tablets with just one USB output? And not standard?
- Supports only proprietary additional hardware?

No thanks!! They can keep up with their braindead appleish hardware
Im moving to standard chinese hardware all the time

I hope the day i could upgrade my tablet as the same way i do upgrade my PC
Until there, there's little value added at all

At the time the first chinese hardware manufactures releases their first pen tablet, samsung is dead water for me

Nice phone by reboot246 · 2014-01-28 23:18 · Score: 4, Informative

with a butt-ugly interface.

No sir, I don't like it.

Re:Nice phone by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:41 · Score: 0

You appear to be aesthetically challenged.

So... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:29 · Score: 0

It rebuilds itself when it falls into the ground?

Samsung and Google by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-28 23:35 · Score: 0

Didn't they just sign some agreement a few days ago? And now Samsung is gonna stab Google in the back. Grab your popcorn and place your bets!

Re:Samsung and Google by Custard+Horse · 2014-01-28 23:41 · Score: 4, Funny

Didn't they just sign some agreement a few days ago? And now Samsung is gonna stab Google in the back. Grab your popcorn and place your bets!
They're keeping patent law alive. Not content with being sued by Apple, they will now be sued by microsoft - presumably as their 'tiles' are 'too square'.
Re:Samsung and Google by gnasher719 · 2014-01-29 00:27 · Score: 1

They're keeping patent law alive. Not content with being sued by Apple, they will now be sued by microsoft - presumably as their 'tiles' are 'too square'.
Samsung has done plenty of suing themselves - not with much success. The worst failure of course in the EU, where Samsung has been threatened with a fine up to 13 billion dollars if they continue to try using Samsung patents in an anti-competitive way.

Proves WP8 is top-notch by q.kontinuum · 2014-01-28 23:46 · Score: 0

So, Samsung copies now WP UI? Not Apple anymore?

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Trolling is a art!

Re:Proves WP8 is top-notch by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 00:20 · Score: 0

ah [slow clap] ah [slow clap] ah!
Re: Proves WP8 is top-notch by __aagigi1968 · 2014-01-29 00:22 · Score: 1

well,after copying the rounded corners,they could'nt find anything else worthwhile from apple to copy. its apples constant "innovation" that is what others failed to copy. but when they went looking for it,it seem to have vanished as if it had been no more than mist,or a smoke screen.
Re:Proves WP8 is top-notch by CastrTroy · 2014-01-29 02:51 · Score: 1

Never used a Windows phone, but I do have Surface, and I have to say I really like the Metro (aka Modern) UI on a touch device. I refuse to buy a phone without an SD card slot, so iPhone is out of the picture (as are many Android phones), so my next phone may very well be a Windows Phone. I'm not very impressed with Android and the only reason I have Android is because it was the only option at the time that had an SD card slot. The lack of ability to update the phone OS without going through the phone manufacturer or jumping through hoops of rooting the phone and unlocking the bootloader is just unacceptable. Windows phones seem to be much easier to update than Android phones, and all the Updates come through Microsoft, regardless of the manufacturer (from what I know, correct me if I'm wrong). And most of the Windows Phones I've seen come with an SD Card slot, or have a significant (32 GB) amount of storage on board.

--

Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.

False Windows 8 comparison by RivenAleem · 2014-01-28 23:51 · Score: 1

Just because it has widgets arranged on the screen, does not make it a Metro UI. I could do that with an android phone.

markets by Tom · 2014-01-29 00:14 · Score: 3, Informative

Samsung is also one of the world's top smartphone vendors, so it should have a decent chance at developing a mobile OS of its own, don't you think?

No. These are two different markets and being a good hardware vendor doesn't mean you're a good OS developer. It worked for Apple, because they are neither - they are a design-focussed company.

So Samsung or not makes no difference. Let's see what the product is like.

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Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org

Tizen uses EFL by Niznaika · 2014-01-29 00:29 · Score: 3, Informative

I see a lot of distrust of the Tizen interface, and even though I'm not a big fan of tiles, Samsung uses EFL as UI framework and has in it's payroll Carsten Haitzler (Rasterman) and Cedric Bail, the main developers of Enlightenment, which I think, grants that the end product will be quite good.

Samsung's agenda by thornfield · 2014-01-29 00:37 · Score: 1

If you're winding how a Samsung UI and user experience would be under Tizen look at the Samsung Bluray players. This is all about Samsung's content/control agenda and nothing about the user experience.

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> Indicators, they are your friends! >

Perhaps they can pull this off... by Simulant · 2014-01-29 00:45 · Score: 3, Insightful

...but only if they can release OS updates for 1-2 years after a phone's release.

My experience with Samsung, (my first 3 android phones were Samsung), is that they tend to ship and forget. They showed no loyalty to me and so I never developed any loyalty to them. I think they got where they are by market saturation rather than any real, inherent superiority of their products.

Re:Perhaps they can pull this off... by BigZee · 2014-01-29 04:30 · Score: 1

This isn't really that surprising. Whilst I realise that Samsung runs a half-arsed app store, it doesn't seem particularly serious to me. In practice therefore, Samsung only make money from selling you the phone. Once that's done, all they have are obligations from a support perspective and those cost money. When Apple sell an iPhone, they will make money from every app you buy. Consequently, they have an incentive to provide updates etc. I don't think Apple actually show any more loyalty than Samsung, it's only about money.
Re:Perhaps they can pull this off... by ducomputergeek · 2014-01-29 05:01 · Score: 1

Wife and I are shopping for a new carrier and new phones. I'm getting another iPhone. I've had one since the 3G and like other Apple products I own, it stays out of my way and lets me get work done.
But she has Samsung devices, Tablet & Phone, but every time we went in to ask questions there was someone in front of us returning a Samsung S4. Well we noticed something. We've gone to 6 different stores and every time we waited the person in front of us was returning a Samsung device, less than 30 days old, and requesting a swap for something different. Some seemed to get a HTC phone, other elected to dump Android and go to Apple.
When we asked sales people about it, more than one told us right now to get the HTC or even Motorola over Samsung at the moment. Apparently while Samsung has a since marketing campaign, their quality control has suffered. As result they are seeing a lot of returns because the phones don't work.
The other thing with the S3 and S4 is that the phones are frankly larger than what she wants to carry. They have an S4 Mini, but she is afraid it will be like her SII and suffer from lack of updates.
I believe she had an early HTC and had problems with it before her Samsung. It's enough that she's now debating switching to an iPhone 5S.

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"The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.

Yet another mobile OS... by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 00:46 · Score: 0

*yawn*

LOL Samsung Software by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 01:25 · Score: 0

They cant even make a proper phone manager, have you actually tried successfully using the mess of "Samsung Kies" ? it makes iTunes look good, a great example of form over function and screw UI standards, if it works for the sales demo it ships!.

When the very first UI page tells you to reinstall device drivers if anything doesn't work while using 1.2gig of ram (of outsourced .NET) just to sync Outlook and my Contact list, you know you are in for a good time.

Tiles Suck by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:03 · Score: 0

My Galaxy S4 already has these App Tile What-cha-ma-call-its and, like Windows 8, they suck. Fortunately, and unlike Windows 8, I am not forced to use them on the S4. If that were to change... Well, Samsung might fall from its present power position.

Tiles suck. Bloatware apps suck. Spying apps suck. There is a market opportunity there for someone. Will someone take it and go for the long hall or will they all go for the quick money?

A leak? You mean press release... by matbury · 2014-01-29 02:06 · Score: 2

"Leak" seems to be the new term for "press release." Samsung are just drumming up their marketing machine to promote their next product. Must have learned it from Apple Inc. Perhaps they'll "lose" a prototype somewhere (Starbucks?) so that PR marketers... ahem, "journalists" have an excuse to generate more advertising revenue for their publication(s).

Really, this stuff is getting stale.

I'm not holding my breath for this! by morgauxo · 2014-01-29 02:45 · Score: 3, Interesting

I had a Samsung Stratosphere. It ran like shit!!!!
Then I got an SIII. It worked for about a week.
Now I have a Motorola phone. Ah.... Much better!

If Samsung can't even make Android, which someone else has already done most of the coding for run well how are they going to make their own OS?!?!

Re:I'm not holding my breath for this! by iONiUM · 2014-01-29 03:46 · Score: 1

Well, that's a great load of anecdotal shit. I have had an S3 since it came out in Canada in 2012, and it is still working fine (I've moved on to the Nexus 5, but my wife uses the S3 to this day). It has had no problems, and a few months ago I moved it to Cyanogenmod without issue.
The hardware is fine, and it's never had an issue. So while I'm sure this new OS will probably suck, let's try to figure out why it'll suck for actual reasons, rather than the Galaxy line which is actually pretty good. Credit where credit is due.
Re:I'm not holding my breath for this! by thegarbz · 2014-01-29 15:36 · Score: 1

I had a Samsung Galaxy S1. No actually I still have it, and it still works.
My girlfriend had an S2, no actually that one still works too.
Both of us have S3s though she had the LTE version.
I now have an S4.
Not a single failure and we didn't coddle these phones even in the slightest, the S1 even has a broken screen. Yeah I tried a Motorola phone and I'm very glad I went Samsung. Dare I say I'm a fan?
Re:I'm not holding my breath for this! by morgauxo · 2014-01-30 05:01 · Score: 1

Not entirely anecdotal. When my S3 died it simply turned off and never turned back on. When I searched Google I found lots of other people had the same problem with the S3. Not necessarily everybody... plenty of people love their S3s and have no problem but this particular failure mode happens to the S3 far more than is usual for other models.
Since we are talking about Samsung developing software I must say I don't know if the problem with the S3 is hardware or software related. It sure seems like a hardware problem but then again.. there is software involved in pretty much every stage of a modern smartphone turning on. Maybe there can be some sort of firmware issue causing this.. I don't know.
As for the Strat... the internet is full of negative reviews for it and the problems in this case are software related.
Re:I'm not holding my breath for this! by morgauxo · 2014-01-30 05:12 · Score: 1

Up through the S3 my wife had the same phones that I did. She loves her Strat and her S3.
My Strat was great for about 2 days then it sucked. It seemed like I couldn't install much of anything on it or it would slow down to a crawl. I wasn't installing anything sketchy either, almost no games (I think I did have angry birds). Some health related stuff that my wife had too (hers worked well) and some ham radio apps. There was nothing that was likely to be infected plus on my previous phone (a Motorola Droid) the same apps caused no problems.
Frequent restores and re-installation of everything did make the Strat work ok but come on, who wants to do that? We also had a friend with the same phone, his experience was similar to mine. Reviews on the internet seemed to be more similar to my experience than my wife's.
Then we got the S3s. She still loves hers. Mine stopped working after about a week. It just turned off and would not turn back on. Google tells me this is a common problem. Not a universal problem, many people have no problems with their S3s but it is common enough that I found plenty of 'me toos' online.
I think maybe I was unlucky with two lemons in a row. Maybe it IS just luck. But.. Out of the 4 Android phones I have had 2 Motorolas that worked great and 2 Samsungs that were total disapointments. (I now have a Bionic and love my lapdock)
After 2 years of angry cursing at my phone I will tell people not to buy Samsung any chance I get!

Even apple could not create it's own OS. by goombah99 · 2014-01-29 02:51 · Score: 0

Palm failed, HP failed. Both Apple, Nokia and Blackberry all failed when they tried to create a new OS. When Copeland failed Apple acquired Next, When Symbian wasnt suited to new devices, Nokia acquired Windows.

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Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.

Re:Even apple could not create it's own OS. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 02:59 · Score: 1

Windows8 is failing in a relative sense. It does have a lot of copies and users out there. It just is not seeing the adoption of it's predecessors. The surface hardware appears to be quite attractive so it's the OS that is failing.
In fact if you go back in time, Windows only succeeded when it began copying macOS features. Likewise Android slavishly copied IOS.
Re:Even apple could not create it's own OS. by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 04:22 · Score: 0

Add Sony and IBM (warp) to that list of hardware makers that failed in creating their own OS.

but being Rasterman does! by Zimluura · 2014-01-29 03:01 · Score: 1

but being Rasterman does!
we don't need another phone os. but if we can get one that runs as fast enlightenment it could be worth a try.

Re:but being Rasterman does! by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 11:22 · Score: 0

Exactly. Ever since Samsung hired the Enlightenment crew (not only Rasterman!) I've been genuinely curious of what is going to come out of it. Looking forward to this.
Re:but being Rasterman does! by loufoque · 2014-01-30 02:03 · Score: 1

Maybe it will be as successful as Rasterman's previous mobile OS project, OpenMoko.
Re:but being Rasterman does! by Zimluura · 2014-01-30 05:14 · Score: 1

Hahaha, always a possibility. Though I had thought OpenMoko's lack of success wasn't about it being poorly written, and iirc, that's what you were questioning here.
To clarify, I think Tizen will have an uphill battle:
* Android has a massive head start, and is easy to pick up if you know some C.
* Macolytes generally won't consider anything other than "their precious".
but, if i had to pick a mobile os based on efficient use of hardware resources, Tizen would be worth a look just from its pedigree.

Samsung doesn't code well by Anonymous Coward · 2014-01-29 03:29 · Score: 0

I have a Galaxy S4 and a Nexus 4. Guess which one works better... The S4 reboots itself occasionally and the gui feels heavier. And that is just customizing android. I don't want to try something done by them from stratch.

It's doomed, because Japanese software sucks by realmolo · 2014-01-29 04:53 · Score: 1

It's a weird phenomenon, but it seems that the Japanese don't "get" system software/operating systems AT ALL.

It almost seems to be a cultural thing. They like baroque/quirky interfaces and systems. For video games, that is often a good thing; it makes the game interesting. For applications, it sucks.

Re:It's doomed, because Japanese software sucks by citizenr · 2014-01-29 08:37 · Score: 1

It's a weird phenomenon, but it seems that the Japanese don't "get" system software/operating systems AT ALL.
It almost seems to be a cultural thing. They like baroque/quirky interfaces and systems. For video games, that is often a good thing; it makes the game interesting. For applications, it sucks.
You hit nail on the head. For more reference just read about Nintendo Wii/WiiU. They delivered TEN (10) years old development environment for the Wii (straight from GCN days). It only got worse for WiiU.
http://www.eurogamer.net/artic...

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Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
Re:It's doomed, because Japanese software sucks by Anonymous Coward · 2014-02-01 06:17 · Score: 0

Japanese software? It's South Korean.

25 missed calls? by berchca · 2014-01-29 05:21 · Score: 1

Maybe the thing doesn't ring very loudly?

It ALREADY looks better than WP by daboochmeister · 2014-01-29 06:54 · Score: 1

Heck, even just that screenshot looks better than WP, in that you can clearly have different size/shape tiles, and it doesn't have the stupid Fisher Price color scheme of WP. Add to that, the tile-based home screen will likely be optional, just like their similar launcher screen is on their current Android phones. Likely, they depicted it this way so there would be no question it wasn't yet another Android handset.

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"Ahh! I see you're in that indeterminate Schrodinger state where - oh, uh ... never mind." Dave Bucci

No Way? by SuperKendall · 2014-01-29 08:25 · Score: 1

Telecoms do lots of development and are involved in lots of connected things. There is no way around it.

Apple disagrees with you.

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"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley

Re:No Way? by ThePhilips · 2014-01-29 08:50 · Score: 1

LOL. Apple has hired quite a lot of telecom developers back then. That's how first rumors about iPhone have started: journalists/etc seen the job openings at Apple.
Or you think developers of all kinds grow on trees?

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.
Re:No Way? by SuperKendall · 2014-01-29 10:16 · Score: 1

Do you think Telecom Developers are the same as Telecoms?
Idiot.

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"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Re:No Way? by ThePhilips · 2014-01-29 10:59 · Score: 1

Do you think Telecom Developers are the same as Telecoms?
Sorry, I forgot that in USA the companies are people too. Especially telecoms who just have life of their own, completely independent from the the people who actually work there.

Idiot.
Imbecile.

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All hope abandon ye who enter here.

Nope by Anonymous Coward · 2014-02-02 17:18 · Score: 0

I was an early developer for the Tizen platform.

It's a glorified P.O.S

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