Samsung dumps Symbian in favour of new 'bada' platform

by Stevie Smith - Nov 12 2009, 06:05

Looking to make 'better late than never' inroads into the expanding smartphone sector, Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung has this week announced 'bada', a new open mobile platform that will enable developers to create fun and diverse applications for millions of Samsung's mobile handsets.

Due to arrive in December, the bada platform will offer up a ground-breaking user interface (UI) and will be simple for developers to use, making it “one of the most developer-friendly environments available,” particularly in the area of applications using Web services.

“Samsung will be able to expand the range of choices for mobile phone users to enjoy their smartphone experiences,” outlined Samsung in an official release. “By adopting Samsung bada, users will be able to easily enjoy various applications on their mobile.”

“Samsung bada also offers an easy-to-integrate platform for mobile operators so that mobile operators can provide unique and differentiated services to their customers,” it added.

The official bada Web site opened its virtual doors on November 10 and features a wealth of information on the platform, including updates on product launches, features, and event notices.

A special launch event will also be held in London during December, at which point Samsung will formally unveil the bada software development kit (SDK).

In terms of bada's impact on Samsung's business, senior vice president Don Joo Lee recently told industry watchers DigiTimes that, while Samsung handsets will continue to support the Windows Mobile and Google Android operating systems, the bada platform will replace the company's reliance on Symbian.

Having already shipped a staggering 200 million mobile phone handsets during 2009, Lee intimated that the 2010 arrival of Samsung's new open platform will lead to a further increase of up to 20 percent.

According to Samsung, the name 'bada' was chosen as it means 'ocean' in Korean and was selected as it conveys “the limitless variety of potential applications which can be created using the new platform.”

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