Samsung plans to launch a Tizen smartphone in India on Dec 10

South Korea’s Samsung plans to launch a new sub-$100 smartphone running on its own Tizen operating system in India later this month, South Korea’s Maeil Business Newspaper said on Monday. The paper, a local business daily, said Samsung will hold a press conference on Dec. 10 to launch its first Tizen smartphone, to be called the Z1. A Samsung spokeswoman declined to comment. Samsung had initially planned to  **launch a Tizen smartphone in Russia** in the third quarter but scrapped the plan. The firm said at the time that it wanted to further enhance the ecosystem behind Tizen. Only a handful of devices, including the firm’s smartwatch products, currently run on the platform. The majority of Samsung’s mobile devices are based on Google’s Android platform. The South Korean firm’s push to develop its own operating system is part of efforts to reduce dependence on the U.S. firm, but delays in product launches have undercut expectations. Earlier reports suggest that Samsung was planning to launch it’s  **first Tizen smartphone in November** . Samsung is believed to be dropping Samsung Z in favor of other cheaper Tizen devices. The Samsung Z is the first commercially available Tizen phone featuring a 4.8-inch HD (720p) Super AMOLED display, similar to the one found in the **Galaxy S3** . With inputs from Reuters