Intel’s and Nokia’s operating system MeeGo has met with all too early end and the project that actually started with the termination of another – Moblin – has like Phoenix risen again. With Nokia out of the picture Intel and Samsung takes on the new project Tizen that will be a completely open operating system with full focus on HTML5.
The Tizen project will be run as an open operating system by the Linux Foundation and be optimized for a variety of platforms. We are not just talking smartphones and tablets, but also TVs, netbooks and computer systems. Even if the project will be on the shoulders of the Linux Foundation and be completely open, but a team of engineers from Samsung and Intel will steer the project in the right direction.
Samsung has decided to open up the source code for its own Bada operating system has added more resources to its lineup, but will most likely not spend any great amounts on Tizen since it is expected to be powered by a large community.
Intel that after Nokia’s “leaving” was alone with MeeGo decided to team up with Tizen where it has made a statement with the following conclusion;
“Why not just evolve MeeGo? We believe the future belongs to HTML5-based applications, outside of a relatively small percentage of apps, and we are firmly convinced that our investment needs to shift toward HTML5. Shifting to HTML5 doesn’t just mean slapping a web runtime on an existing Linux, even one aimed at mobile, as MeeGo has been. Emphasizing HTML5 means that APIs not visible to HTML5 programmers need not be as rigid, and can evolve with platform technology and can vary by market segment.”
What this means for the mobile market is less certain. Most likely Tizen will be a counterpoint to the other locked operating systems on the ARM market and a platform that we hope will drive development forward also with other commercial solutions that is already fighting to the death for the smallest market shares.
The first launch of Tizen and its development package is planned for Q1 2012 and then with great focus on the new HTML5 standard.
