The population of mobile operating systems has a new member with the Samsung Electronics launch Tuesday of Bada. The name is Korean for ocean, as the new platform is intended to provide an ocean of applications for a market that is increasingly interested in finding great ones.
The company said the name is also intended to evoke its “commitment to a variety of open platforms,” and it represents “fresh challenges and opportunities” for developers.
‘Stable’ and ‘Simple’
Bada supports such features as motion sensing, face detection, and social networking. To encourage the creation of applications, Samsung is creating a competitive challenge for developers that offers $2.7 million in awards.
The company said Bada is “an extremely stable offering” and is “extremely simple” to create apps for — especially applications that use web services. It also touted what it described as the platform’s groundbreaking user interface.
Several major companies have signed on as development partners for Bada, including Twitter, EA Mobile, and Gameloft in France. Dr. Hosoo Lee, head of the media solution center at Samsung, said the new platform will enable the company to “provide rich mobile experiences on an increasing number of accessible smartphones.”
As with some platforms, such as Google’s open-source Android, Bada lets wireless operators create their own customized interfaces. Other elements of the platform’s ecosystem include the Samsung Mobile Innovator and Application Seller site, and its application stores.
Since Apple launched its App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch, such centralized online locations to distribute and sell mobile applications have become a key part of a platform’s appeal. New stores have or will soon be launched for Windows Mobile, Android, Palm’s webOS, and others.
‘Kind of Bizarre’
According to news reports, Bada will be launched first on touchscreen phones in the midrange, and then move to lower-end devices. The first devices…