Holiday Gift Guide »

Idea: Samsung should dump Bada plans and offer TouchWIZ UI to third parties

Categories: Ideas and rants, Samsung
By: , IntoMobile
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 6:26 AM

Samsung S5600 TouchWIZ

A few weeks ago, we found out Samsung is working on its own mobile OS – Bada. Right from the bat, we asked – who needs it? There are already several mobile operating systems available on the market and why would Samsung spend its resources on “yet another mobile OS” is beyond me. Do they actually expect to have some other handset maker to license Bada? Samsung is a huge handset maker, second only to Nokia, and even if they end up as the only company which uses Bada, it’s still something — look at Nokia’s Series 40, for instance.

That made me think. Instead of going full-blown for the entire mobile OS, Samsung should offer its UI, TouchWIZ, to other handset makers. They already run it on several platforms — Windows Mobile, Android and Symbian included — plus TouchWIZ can perfectly sing along feature phones. Why not offer the widget-friendly interface to third parties. I love TouchWIZ and could see smaller handset makers adopting it over night. Samsung has invested heavily in TouchWIZ and it’s probably one of the best (if not the best) UI solutions out there. It’s certainly the only UI that works across that many platforms and that by itself is its strength. The Korean company could offer it as an off-the-shelf solution that works on top of any smartphone platform which is not made by Apple. Plus, they could offer customization services for those who require something even more. Or open APIs and let the community do its magic.

What do you think? Is this the better way to go for Samsung? Drop us a comment if you have one. ;)

SPONSORED MESSAGE
Get free domestic and international calls and texts to anyone with the Vonage Mobile app available as an iPhone calling app or Android calling app.

About The Author

Dusan Belic

Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.

  • Less the Best

    It would be really stupid from Samsung to license their TouchWIZ. UI is the only way differate products. It’s the only way to compete on smartphone market … This is why wee have Motorola’s Motoblur, HTC’s Sense, SE’s Rachael’s what-ever-it-is …