Samsung has been looking to strengthen its offerings outside of Android since Google decided to acquire Motorola Mobility, and was quick to quash rumours that it may purchase WebOS from HP after Google as they have said they will put more focus on their own Bada OS. If today’s WSJ report is correct, they may be looking to take the fight to Google more directly and open source their proprietary OS within a year, and make the software the backbone to other devices such as connected TVs and Blu-ray players.
Samsung is currently the world’s second biggest smartphone manufacturer behind Apple, and they produce devices for Android, Windows Phone 7, and Bada OS. Their Galaxy S2 range may be their fasting selling and current flagship product, but they have been pleased with sales of the Wave range of Bada OS phones as well – selling over a million in the four weeks after the original launch, and having debuted three new Bada 2.0 smartphones is Asia last month.
By open sourcing Bada OS, they hope to be able to gain from the community involvement and excitement that has aided Android’s wide adoption, as well as take advantage of the lack of transparency within Android development. Bada already has its own app store, but so far it has always been a background OS for developers trying to capture the hearts and minds of smartphone users – but if Samsung turns their focus to it we might see development rise a notch or two quite quickly.