Samsung Z1 Price, Release In India; First Tizen Based Phone To Launch This Month

Samsung is expected to launch its first Tizen based smartphone in India for Rs. 5,000 as it targets Google's Android One and Xiaomi phones.

After constantly focusing on high-end smartphones, Samsung is taking a break and looking at its low-budget phones' category.  After much speculation about its home-grown Tizen based smartphone, the Korean tech giant is reportedly ready to launch the Samsung Z1 in India later this month. The smartphone will be a low-budget phone and is expected to be about Rs. 5,000, Reuters reported.

The reason behind Samsung's low price strategy for its Tizen based phone is quite clear. Android is the dominating mobile OS and Apple's iOS makes up for second highest phones in the world. If Samsung wishes to pierce its way through these two giants, it is essential the initial pricing of the phone be affordable. After all, Samsung is a well-known brand for low-budget phones and chances of connecting with a larger audience is more than that of the high-end segment.

The Samsung Z1, which bears the model number Z130H, will reportedly be launched during a press event scheduled on Dec. 10. Based on the specs leaked so far, the low-end phone features a 4-inch display with 480 x 800 pixels along with a 1.2GHz dual-core chip, 512MB RAM, 3.2MP camera, VGA front camera, dual-SIM slots and 3G connectivity.

Samsung's Tizen will compete directly with Mozilla Firefox (Intex Cloud FX) and Sail fish (Jolla phones) that have already entered the market but failed to gain enough consumer attention. Samsung is in itself a brand and the new OS under its own banner is an added advantage. But it remains to be seen how well Samsung will make its way into the compact mobile OS market and whether it will occupy the mid-range or high-end smartphone categories.