Samsung tries to shake Google reliance with $92 India phone

SEOUL: Samsung Electronics Co. is making a break from Google Inc. today, selling a $92 smartphone in India that runs its own homegrown Tizen software rather than the search giant's Android operating system.

The Samsung Z1 -- with 3G capability and a liquid-crystal display -- is selling for 5,700 rupees, the world's largest smartphone maker said in a statement. It's the first phone using Tizen, the system Samsung developed with Huawei Technologies Co. and Intel Corp. to challenge the Android software that powers most of the world's mobile devices.

A Tizen phone, which has been delayed for more than a year, was the missing link in Samsung's plan to build a revenue-generating platform similar to those run by Google and Apple Inc. Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae Yong is trying to revive profit growth and defend against new, larger-screen iPhones and models from Xiaomi Corp. and Lenovo Group Ltd. "It's going to be a tough sell," said Neil Shah, Mumbaibased analyst with Counterpoint Technology Market Research. "The price point they're targeting is still pretty high, and the Tizen overall OS experience is still way behind Android. It's already eight years late to the party."

Samsung, also the world's largest maker of TVs, unveiled its first Tizen-powered sets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week, saying all Web-ready models it sells this year will use the operating system. In April, it released the Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo wristwatches, which are compatible with many Samsung Galaxy phones.

Shares of Samsung rose 0.4 percent to close at 1,345,000 won in Seoul before the phone was announced. The stock fell 3.3 percent last year after a 9.9 percent decline in 2013.

The release of the Z1 marks the first time Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung has sold a phone using another OS since experimenting with devices using Microsoft Inc.'s Windows Mobile, including the Ativ S in 2012. Nearly all 243 million phones Samsung shipped as of Sept. 30 used Google software. Samsung's Z1 comes in black, red or white, with dual SIM-card slots and a 3.1-megapixel rear camera, the company said.