Tizen
Encyclopedia
Tizen is a free and open source
Linux
-based mobile operating system
project sponsored by the non-profit
technology consortia
Linux Foundation
and LiMo Foundation
. Tizen was born out of MeeGo, which was itself a combination of the mobile operating systems Moblin, created by Intel, and Maemo
, created by Nokia
, and is intended to replace MeeGo. (The MeeGo codebase remains available.) Development is currently led by Intel, Samsung
, and some former MeeGo
developers.
Tizen's software framework
s for third-party developers will be "based on HTML5 and other web standards
" and will be designed for use in tablets
, netbook
s, smartphone
s, smart TV
, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
Members of the current technical steering team say that "development will be completely open".
The first release of the system and its SDK
is intended to happen in Q1 2012 with first devices being released during Q2 2012. Tizen is intended to be compatible with current MeeGo applications. It is intended, however, to be more flexible than MeeGo through the use of another HTML5-based API
. The developers have stressed that HTML5 is not the only platform available and have also integrated the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
into the OS.
For its part, former MeeGo contributor Nokia is said to be separately developing its own successor Meltemi
which will only be targeted at feature phone
s.
Community developers from the Mer project have said that they plan to continue working on MeeGo without the help of Intel and Nokia, and even without the Linux Foundation if they have to. So far it is not clear whether they will be allowed to continue to use the MeeGo trademark.
The MeeGo project itself was born out of combination of the mobile operating systems Moblin, which was originally created by Intel, and Maemo, which was originally created by Nokia. With the joint MeeGo project first being announced at Mobile World Congress
in February 2010 by Intel and Nokia in a joint press conference. They then stated that the aim of MeeGo was to merge the efforts of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo former projects into one new common project. While according to Intel, MeeGo was developed because Microsoft
did not offer comprehensive Windows 7 support for the Atom processor
.
Free and open source software
Free and open-source software or free/libre/open-source software is software that is liberally licensed to grant users the right to use, study, change, and improve its design through the availability of its source code...
Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based mobile operating system
Mobile operating system
A mobile operating system, also known as a mobile OS, mobile software platform or a handheld operating system, is the operating system that controls a mobile device or information appliance—similar in principle to an operating system such as Windows, Mac OS X, or Linux distributions that controls a...
project sponsored by the non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
technology consortia
Consortium
A consortium is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a common goal....
Linux Foundation
Linux Foundation
The Linux Foundation is a non-profit technology consortium chartered to foster the growth of Linux.Founded in 2007 by the merger of the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group , the Linux Foundation sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and is supported by leading...
and LiMo Foundation
LiMo Foundation
The LiMo Foundation is an non-profit technology consortium organization dedicated to creating the first truly open, hardware-independent, Linux-based mobile operating system for smartphone mobile devices...
. Tizen was born out of MeeGo, which was itself a combination of the mobile operating systems Moblin, created by Intel, and Maemo
Maemo
Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...
, created by Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
, and is intended to replace MeeGo. (The MeeGo codebase remains available.) Development is currently led by Intel, Samsung
Samsung
The Samsung Group is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea...
, and some former MeeGo
MeeGo
MeeGo is a Linux-based open source mobile operating system project. Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances in the consumer electronics market, MeeGo is designed to act as an operating system for hardware platforms such as netbooks, entry-level desktops, nettops, tablet...
developers.
Tizen's software framework
Software framework
In computer programming, a software framework is an abstraction in which software providing generic functionality can be selectively changed by user code, thus providing application specific software...
s for third-party developers will be "based on HTML5 and other web standards
Web standards
Web standards is a general term for the formal standards and other technical specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web. In recent years, the term has been more frequently associated with the trend of endorsing a set of standardized best practices for building web sites,...
" and will be designed for use in tablets
Tablet computer
A tablet computer, or simply tablet, is a complete mobile computer, larger than a mobile phone or personal digital assistant, integrated into a flat touch screen and primarily operated by touching the screen...
, netbook
Netbook
Netbooks are a category of small, lightweight, legacy-free, and inexpensive laptop computers.At their inception in late 2007 as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost — netbooks omitted certain features , featured smaller screens and keyboards, and offered reduced computing...
s, smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s, smart TV
Smart TV
Smart TV, which is also sometimes referred to as "Connected TV" or "Hybrid TV", , is the phrase used to describe the current trend of integration of the internet and Web 2.0 features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technological convergence between computers and these...
, and in-vehicle infotainment systems.
Members of the current technical steering team say that "development will be completely open".
The first release of the system and its SDK
Software development kit
A software development kit is typically a set of software development tools that allows for the creation of applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar platform.It may be something as simple...
is intended to happen in Q1 2012 with first devices being released during Q2 2012. Tizen is intended to be compatible with current MeeGo applications. It is intended, however, to be more flexible than MeeGo through the use of another HTML5-based API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
. The developers have stressed that HTML5 is not the only platform available and have also integrated the Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
The Enlightenment Foundation Libraries, or EFL, is a set of open source graphical software libraries that grew out of the Enlightenment window manager project and is developed by Enlightenment.org with some sponsorship from Samsung, Profusion and Free.fr...
into the OS.
History
In September 2011 Intel and the Linux Foundation announced that their efforts will shift from MeeGo to Tizen during 2011 and 2012.For its part, former MeeGo contributor Nokia is said to be separately developing its own successor Meltemi
Meltemi (operating system)
Meltemi has been reported by a number of sources to be a Linux-based smartphone operating system designed by Nokia for low-cost mobile devices, to replace the Nokia Series 40 feature phone operating system. It was announced in 2011, after Nokia's adoption of Windows Phone to replace Symbian, and...
which will only be targeted at feature phone
Feature phone
A feature phone is a mobile phone that, like smartphones, combines the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone.Today's models typically also serve as portable media players and camera phones with touchscreen, GPS navigation, Wi-Fi and mobile broadband access.Feature phones is...
s.
Community developers from the Mer project have said that they plan to continue working on MeeGo without the help of Intel and Nokia, and even without the Linux Foundation if they have to. So far it is not clear whether they will be allowed to continue to use the MeeGo trademark.
The MeeGo project itself was born out of combination of the mobile operating systems Moblin, which was originally created by Intel, and Maemo, which was originally created by Nokia. With the joint MeeGo project first being announced at Mobile World Congress
Mobile World Congress
The GSMA Mobile World Congress is the combination of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry and a conference featuring prominent Chief Executives representing mobile operators, device manufacturers, technology providers, vendors and content owners from across the world...
in February 2010 by Intel and Nokia in a joint press conference. They then stated that the aim of MeeGo was to merge the efforts of Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo former projects into one new common project. While according to Intel, MeeGo was developed because Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
did not offer comprehensive Windows 7 support for the Atom processor
Intel Atom
Intel Atom is the brand name for a line of ultra-low-voltage x86 and x86-64 CPUs from Intel, designed in 45 nm CMOS and used mainly in netbooks, nettops, embedded application ranging from health care to advanced robotics and Mobile Internet devices...
.