Tizen and its partners attended MWC 2015 in Barcelona, where we showcased the latest innovations in connected devices and apps. Attendees who stopped by Tizen booth were able to get their hands on several Tizen devices including the Samsung Z1 and the Samsung Gear S, while our partners demonstrated their various technologies built on Tizen.

MWC has grown dramatically, and much of that growth has to do with a broadened appeal, stretching the imagination and the innovation that envelops “mobile”. To tap into all of the unique perspectives and viewpoints at the show, we conducted a survey of more than 300 attendees, asking questions about their preferences in mobile handsets, operating systems and connected devices. What we learned falls right in line with our views on the future of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Tizen.

But first… some interesting takes on the deciding factors in device choice. With many exhibitors launching new mobile devices at the show, it was extremely relevant to ask people what their top priority was when choosing a new mobile device. The answer? Respondents seemed to favor usability above all else, with 65% deeming it the most important feature. Quality of the camera was a distant second at 11%. Power consumption and breadth of available apps were slightly less dominant at 10% and 9% respectively.

So what does this mean for Tizen? Today’s mobile phone buyers are primarily interested in a smartphone that is user-friendly, customizable and convenient. Vendors should continue offering devices with more personalized experiences that take user preferences and context into account, allowing consumers to quickly complete everyday tasks with just a few taps and finger swipes.

This strong demand for usability in mobile devices is inevitably linked to the device’s OS, and 66% of our respondents confirmed this assumption by pointing to a device’s operating system as very important when deciding whether to buy a device or not. With usability increasingly becoming more a product of software than hardware, Tizen community is intent on developing a flexible and efficient operating system that can adapt to a wide variety of connected devices. Tizen can deliver a high level of usability across devices thanks to its lightweight and open source nature, providing a high level of customization through comprehensive access to common open source libraries. From a device maker’s perspective, having the ability to create custom user experiences is a huge opportunity to finding that consumer sweet spot while still maintaining differentiation.

As the borders of mobility expand, there’s more and more talk about IoT, with close to 90% of survey respondents deemed cross-device communication as important, and nearly half said it was very important. To top it off, 76% of the respondents answered that they expected to use 3 or more connected devices outside of their smartphones in the next two years. Connected devices and the inter-connectivity between them will undoubtedly be vital in the coming years, and establishing a unified platform for these devices is more important now than ever.

In case you hadn't heard, Tizen SDK isn't the only way you can produce apps to submit to Tizen Store (or Tizen App Challenge).

Cocos2d-x was recently added as a supported platform, but there are a lot of others as well! Support for Tizen has been announced for a number of products, including Yoyo Games GameMaker: Studio, Appcelerator Titanium 3.0, Project Anarchy from Havok, and many others as well.

Tizen wiki has a useful, community-supported list of alternate ways you can be developing or porting Tizen apps. While not all of the environments listed on Tizen wiki are fully supported today, it's a great place to look for inspiration and to see if your favorite application framework has been added, or if support is in the works.

There are a lot of great options out there for creating an eye-catching app. We're looking forward to seeing what you create!

Hey app developers, have we got something for you! Tizen App Challenge is now open, which is your chance to get in on over $4M of prizes for the best apps submitted to Tizen Store.

Developers can submit their certified apps to Tizen App Challenge between now and November 1st, 2013. 

Eligible submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges, with prizes ranging from $30,000 to $200,000.  In addition, HTML5 apps are eligible for a special $50,000 award.

Getting started is easy!

 

It's hard to believe, but the 2012 Tizen Developer Conference is just a week away. If you haven't done so, now is a great time to register.

For those who are joining us, there are a number of things happening (PDF link) during the days and nights of the conference.

First, if you are new to San Francisco and want to see some sights, there will be a walking tour on Monday, leaving from the hacker lounge at noon. Then, registration begins at 3:00 pm, Monday afternoon. Stick around and see Tizen demos in the Market Street Foyer, from companies that are active in HTML5 development. On top of that, we'll be giving away an Ultrabook. Just visit some demonstrations and be there for the drawing. The winner could be you!

The opening keynote will be by Imad Sousou from Intel and Jong-Deok Choi from Samsung, followed by a dinner sponsored by Tizen Association. Afterwards, check out the Hacker's lounge, and try to beat Dawn Foster at Werewolf.

On Tuesday, we have more keynotes from Dave Johnson of Adobe Systems, Kiyohito Nagata from Docomo, and James Pearce from Facebook, followed by conference sessions. Tuesday afternoon, we'll have a booth crawl with local food and beer tastings, and another chance to win an ultrabook. Afterwards, there will be a reception at The California Academy of Sciences, sponsored by Intel, Samsung, and Vodafone. Tuesday night is more werewolf, and, of course, the hacker's lounge will be open with late night snacks and drinks.

Finally, on Wednesday we'll have more sessions, and finish with a hands-on Tizen developers lab.