Samsung's first Tizen phone shows up in the flesh

Samsung Z1
It's certainly a Samsung

Samsung's been toying with Tizen for a while now, announcing and then cancelling the Samsung Z, but the Tizen-toting phone is currently on track for a January launch in India.

That could all be about to change with the Samsung Z1 though. Just yesterday we got our first look at what might be the Z1 and today a new image and more information has been revealed.

Twitter user Manish Khatri snapped some photos at an Indian retailer event and also listed some specs, which include a 4.0-inch 800 x 480 screen, a 1.2GHz dual-core processor and 768MB of RAM, so you can tell straight off the bat that this is a low-end phone.

Basic blower

Rounding out the specs there's said to be a 3MP main camera, a VGA front-facing one, a 1500mAh battery, an FM radio, dual SIM support, 3G connectivity, 4GB of storage and a microSD card slot with support for cards of up to 32GB.

It runs Tizen of course - more specifically Tizen 2.3 - and includes features like offline maps and an Ultra Power Saving Mode.

Those specs line up with previous reports and the phone looks like a typically nondescript low end Samsung model if the photos are anything to go by, with a plain plastic back.

It's a bit disappointing in light of the fact that the Samsung Z was going to be a higher end handset, but aiming at the entry-level market might be a better idea for a new OS, as asking people to spend lots of money on something so untested could be a tough sell.

Speaking of money, the Samsung Z1 is expected to launch for under $100 (around £64 / AU$123) with a roll-out starting in India in January, though there's no word on if or when it will hit Europe, the US or Australia.

Via Phone Dog

James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.