Samsung Z3 is company’s latest Tizen-powered smartphone for India

Samsung’s Tizen operating system has been seen primarily on smart televisions of late, and on Samsung’s smartwatches, but the company’s end goal has always been to shove it into smartphones.

It’s latest attempt, after the rapid selling Samsung Z1, is the Samsung Z3. If we could judge a device’s performance solely on looks, we’d say that it’s already a winner.

Of course, Tizen is a different prospect altogether compared to the commonly used Android. Google’s OS owns the best part of 80% of the market share with Tizen practically a crumb on the mobile OS pie chart. But the Samsung Z3 does have some brownie points going for it.

The Samsung Z3 will be sold primarily in India so it’s designed “specifically for the Indian market.” Its US$130 price tag is also extremely emerging market friendly, with Samsung clearly not quite ready to market Tizen as an Android killer just yet.

The Z3’s specs sheet also shouts budget as well. We get a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage which can be bolstered by a microSD card up to 128GB. There’s also a 5.0-inch 720p screen to front the device alongside a 5MP selfie camera and an 8MP camera at the rear. Powering it all is a rather generous 2600mAh battery, which should more than likely power the device all day.

Key numbers:

Dimensions: 141.6mm x 70mm x 7.9mm
Weight: 137g
Display: 5.0-inch, 1280×720, 293ppi
SIM type: Dual SIM
Chipset: Spreadtrum 1.3GHz quad-core | quad-core ARM Cortex A7 | Mali 400 MP2 | 1GB RAM
Storage: 8GB (128GB microSD card supported)
Imaging: Rear: 8MP with LED flash | Front: 5MP with wide-angle lens
Battery: 2600mAh fixed
OS: Tizen 2.3.0

Samsung isn’t giving up on Tizen just yet either, especially with the likes of Firefox OS and Ubuntu Touch slowly creeping into view:

“As a pioneer of Tizen platform, we have continuously introduced Tizen-based mobile devices, including Samsung Z1 and Samsung Gear S2, in our commitment to develop the Tizen ecosystem,” notes JK Shin, Samsung CEO.

“We developed the Samsung Z3 to provide the features that will help consumers capitalize on the growing Tizen ecosystem and make the most out of their personal mobile experience.”

The Samsung Z3 will be available in India from October and can be had in black, silver or gold.