Samsung CEO: we want Tizen on everything

This is interesting. Over the past few years, Samsung has come to dominate the global Android and, to a lesser extent, smartphone space. But an interview with Samsung’s co-CEO JK Shin suggests that the electronics giant won’t always be tied at the waist to Google’s mobile OS.

In the interview, conducted by Cnet Korea and Cnet, Shin seems to suggest that it one day hopes to have all its devices running on Tizen — its own Linuz-based OS.

According to Shin, Tizen is a “simple alternative for Android” and, like the Google OS, could find itself running on more than just phones. In fact, he reckons it could find its way not just into other pieces of consumer electronics but also cars and other industries.

“There are many convergences not only among IT gadgets, including smartphones, tablets, PCs, and cameras, but also among different industries like cars, bio, or banks,” he said. “Cross-convergence is the one [area] Samsung can do best since we do have various parts and finished products.”

But getting Tizen to succeed in a world dominated by Android and iOS won’t be easy. Just ask Microsoft and BlackBerry. Sure it was well received when it debuted at Mobile World Congress earlier this year, but since then it’s hit a few snags. Samsung’s even had to delay the release of the first Tizen phone to the fourth quarter of this year.

On the other hand, making the OS capable of running on a number of platforms isn’t a bad way to go. BlackBerry’s QNX is already operational in a number of vehicles and has helped keep the Canadian company from falling over the edge in recent times.

And while we wouldn’t want to bet against a company like Samsung succeeding with Tizen, it’s worth remembering how easily your dominance can slip if you do something people don’t like. Heck Nokia learned the hard way that if anything even vaguely more appealing than your current offering comes along, you’ll find yourself struggling for a minor place in the charts in a few years’ time.