Tizen-running Samsung Z1 sells 100K units a month after launch

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BY Unknown 00:11 0

Tizen-running Samsung Z1 sells 100K units a month after launch

Tizen had to repeat first grade a couple of times, but now it's finally on a phone, the Samsung Z1. The handset launched in mid-January this year and by the end of the month had sold 50,000 units. Since then the number had grown to 100,000.

So far the Z1 is available in India and Bangladesh, markets where local makers found great success with super-affordable handsets. The Tizen phone sells for INR 5,700 in India and BDT 6,900 in Bangladesh ($90 or so, depending on exchange rates).

The Samsung Z1 launched in Bangladesh on February 3 and has already moved 20,000 units there.Business Korea estimates that the Tizen phone accounted for 1% of sales for the month, based on 7.5 million phones sold a month in the two markets.

Not bad numbers for an OS that some considered stillborn. Samsung has set up servers to help developers run tests in South Korea, the US, Britain and Poland, suggesting a path to future expansions in availability.

10 most trending phones of the week

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BY Unknown 01:27 0

10 most trending phones of the week

Major manufacturers are prepping for the MWC, finalizing the flagships that will shape the smartphone market for the rest of the year. As a result, the past week didn't witness major official launches but there was still plenty of movement in the charts.

The Top 10 trending phones chart is a list of the devices that gathered the most hits throughout the week. In other words, the chart represents the interests of the majority of people, and is an indication of what currently interests you.

Samsung claimed the top three again, but we have a new winner this week. The Galaxy A5 inched its way to first place, climbing from second position last week. Long-time favorite Galaxy Grand Prime surrendered the top spot but is still in the running. The Galaxy S5 retained its third position.

A fey new entries made it to the list this week. The yet-to-be-announced Samsung Galaxy S6 accumulated the most hits among the newcomers, driven by the bucket load of leaks. The Galaxy A3 was likely ushered in by its bigger brother, and the Tizen-powered Z1 completed the Koreans' strong performance. An unexpected Lumia 535 also managed to sneak in the chart, ending up in tenth position.

Samsung Galaxy A5

 

RANK: 1

WAS: 2

Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime

 

RANK: 2

WAS: 1

Samsung Galaxy S5

 

RANK: 3

WAS: 3

Asus Zenfone 5

 

RANK: 4

WAS: 5

Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

RANK: 5

WAS: 4

Apple iPhone 6

 

RANK: 6

WAS: 6

Samsung Galaxy S6

 

RANK: 7

NEW IN

Samsung Z1

 

RANK: 8

NEW IN

Samsung Galaxy A3

 

RANK: 9

NEW IN

Microsoft Lumia 535

 

RANK: 10

NEW IN

Samsung Z1 costs USD $90 upon launch in Bangladesh

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BY Unknown 01:02 0

Samsung Z1 costs USD $90 upon launch in Bangladesh

A few days ago we reported that the Tizen-based Samsung Z1 has just launched in Malaysia, but back then it wasn't clear exactly how much it costs.

New information came through today suggesting the Samsung Z1 is priced at 6,900 Bangladeshi Taka or about USD $90.

The Samsung Z1 recently launched in India too and was off to a flying start there. Pricing is similar, being INR 5,700 or again, around $90.

The Samsung Z1 comes with a 4" WVGA display and runs on a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor with 768MB RAM. It also offers a 3MP rear camera, dual-SIM connectivity with 3G support, FM radio plus a 1,500 mAh battery.

Tizen-running Samsung Z1 now available in Bangladesh

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BY Unknown 00:02 0

Tizen-running Samsung Z1 now available in Bangladesh

The first Tizen smartphone - Samsung Z1 - was finally launched last month and the first market to get it was India. According to Samsung about 30% of the Indian phone users aren't relying on a smartphone and this where Samsung Z1 wanted tohelp.

After the positive start in India, today Samsung announced it is launching the Tizen-running and TouchWiz-skinned Z1 in Bangladesh. The pricing is yet to be announced, but it should be very affordable. Samsung built the Z1 from scratch with developing markets in mind and that's why it can afford to set nothing less but a bargain price.

Samsung Z1 comes with a 4" WVGA display and runs on a dual-core 1.2GHz Cortex-A7 processor with 768MB RAM. It also offers a 3MP rear camera, dual-SIM connectivity with 3G support, FM radio plus a 1,500 mAh battery.

The Z1 runs on Tizen OS 2.3 skinned with TouchWiz. Samsung is also giving away some freebies - you get access to Club Samsung for a year and you will be able to enjoy live TV and free music (including videos) streaming. With the Club Samsung subscription, you also get a three-month access to movie streaming.

So, if you've been waiting for the Tizen-based Samsung Z1 in Bangladesh - it is now available. And if you live elsewhere - the fact that the smartphone left India means that more markets will be getting it soon as well.

Samsung Z1: gets two software updates in a single week

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BY Unknown 03:34 0

Samsung Z1: gets two software updates in a single week

Samsung has undoubtedly been investing a lot of effort in its own Tizen platform. The Samsung Z1 entry-level smartphone is truly vital in this respect as it is currently the sole ambassador of the new OS in the mobile world and as such needs to make a good first impression.

Naturally all the time and attention add up and the Samsung Z1 has received not one, but two OTAs in the past week. Neither of them had a proper change log so it is still pretty much a mystery whether they are performance updates and minor bug fixes or the Korean tech giant had some serious problems lurking somewhere in the Tizen code.

In any case Samsung seems to be banging on the OS to catch on and, as it would appear, for a very good reason, as the headset has been doing well in India. This new modern-technology at budget prices approach towards emerging markets like India definitely seems to be giving results with efforts such as Google's Android One gaining speed, so this emphasis on the new platform is only logical.

The spike in attention seems to be toward Tizen as a whole, rather than the Z1 handset in particular, as the Galaxy Gear S smartwatch, which also runs on Samsung's in-house creation, has received much the same updates in the same time frame. Hopefully this, combined with the current naming trend the Korean manufacturer is employing and the recent expand in product families might just lead to the announcement of Z3, Z5 and Z7 Tizen-powered smartphones in the near future.

For now the choice in hardware for the new OS is limited to say the least and we can only speculate about its true stability and performance, but Samsung seems to be pushing things steadily in the right direction and who knows, maybe we will see a Tizen flagship in 2015.

In the meantime Samsung Z1 owners should head on over to Settings » About device » Software and get the two update packages if you haven’t already done so. And be sure to report back with any new and interesting findings.