Tizen Powered Samsung Z1 will Soon Come with 'Made in India' Tag:
Hyun Chil Hong (R), president and chief executive of Samsung India Electronics, and Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi hold the Samsung's new Z1 smartphones at its launch in New Delhi January 14, 2015. South Korea's Samsung Electronics Co Ltd has launched the first smartphone powered by its Tizen operating system, a major development in the tech giant's aim to build a software ecosystem to rival Google Inc's AndroidREUTERS/Adnan Abidi

South Korean electronics company Samsung is reportedly planning to roll out the new Tizen OS powered Z1 in India from its regional assembling unit in Noida.

"The compelling proposition of an easy to use and clutter free interface (of Z1), along with premium design has met wide consumer acceptance... The Z1 will be manufactured in company's Noida plant in UP," PTI quoted Asim Warsi, Samsung India vice president marketing (Mobile and IT) as saying.

"Samsung Z1 sales have surpassed all expectations in a highly competitive and a fiercely fought price segment, which offers consumers the widest choice. We are also witnessing significant usage of the entertainment package with consumers downloading music and enjoying free movies and live TV," he added.

The company's statement on good reception to Samsung Z1 in India comes just days after a contradictory report by Reuters, which said that Z1 is a flop in the Indian market.

The agency cited numerous critics and market analysts to say that Samsung Z1 was a bit sub-par in terms of specifications compared to other cheap Android devices.

Samsung's new OS Tizen is also new to the market and its app collection is no match to Google Android, Apple iOS and Microsoft Windows Phone OS' ecosystems.

Though the argument seems fair, we believe it is too early to assume Samsung Z1 is either a success or failure as it is less than a month old in the market.

We need more time to really judge the device's success in the market. If Samsung is to be believed, Tizen OS boasts of simple interface, faster page-loading and in turn helps in long-lasting battery life, all at a budget-friendly ₹5,700 price-tag. If true, it has some fighting chance in Indian market which hosts more than 280 telecommunication firms.

Also, India's smartphone market is still in a nascent stage offering enough scope for 250-plus firms with high growth prospect. Since early 2014, many companies including tier-1 brands like Samsung and Motorola have used India as global launch pad for unveiling their new devices.

Samsung's plan of making Z1 in India is a sign of further evidence its commitment to the subcontinent. This annoucement also augurs well with PM Narendra Modi's ambitious plan of 'Make in India'.

These are exciting times for Indian consumers who will be spoilt for choices with so many companies trying vying for their attention by releasing feature-rich devices for dirt cheap prices.

Recently Lenovo launched A6000, a budget 4G-LTE smartphone for just ₹6,999.

[Read more:Budget 4G-LTE Smartphone Lenovo A6000 Launched in India; Sale to take-off on 28 January]

Coming back to Samsung's new Tizen powered Z1. It is targeted at first-time users who are planning to migrate from feature-phones to smartphones. What they look for is an easy user-interface and long battery life, and if Samsung Z1 succeeds in these two areas, it will get many loyal buyers, who will be keen to upgrade to its more advanced phones in future.

Key specifications of Samsung Z1:

Models Samsung Z1
Display 4.0-inch TFT PLS WVGA screen with 480x800p resolutions
OS Tizen v2.3
Processor 1.2GHz dual A7-core CPU(chipset: SC7727S)
RAM 768MB
Storage Capacity 4GB, expandable up to 64GB
Camera
  • Main: 3.1-megapixel camera with LED flash
  • Front: 0.3-megapixel VGA camera
Battery 1500 mAh
Network 3G
Add-ons Dual-SIM slots, Bluetooth v4.1, Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n), FM Radio (with recording option), micro-USB 2.0, microSD card slot, A-GPS
Dimensions 120.4 X 63.2 X 9.7 mm
Price ₹5,700