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Tizen

Tizen () is an operating system based on the Linux kernel and the GNU C Library implementing the Linux API. It targets a very wide range of devices including smartphones, tablets, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) devices, smart TVs, PCs, smart cameras, wearable computing (such as smartwatches), Blu-ray players, printers and smart home appliances (such as refrigerators, lighting, washing machines, air conditioners, ovens/microwaves and a robotic vacuum cleaner). Its purpose is to offer a consistent user experience across devices. Tizen is a project within the Linux Foundation and is governed by a Technical Steering Group (TSG) composed of Samsung and Intel among others. Tizen's licensing model involves software that uses a variety of licenses that may be incompatible with the Open Source Definition (see Licensing model below), and a proprietary software development kit (SDK). The Tizen Association was formed to guide the industry role of Tizen, including requirements gathering, identifying and facilitating service models, and overall industry marketing and education. Members of the Tizen Association represent every major sector of the mobility industry and every region of the world. Current members include telecommunications network operators, OEMs and manufacturers: Fujitsu, Huawei, Intel, KT Corporation, NEC Casio Mobile Communications, NTT DoCoMo, Orange S.A., Panasonic Mobile Communications, Samsung, SK Telecom, Sprint Corporation and Vodafone. While the Tizen Association decides what needs to be done in Tizen, the Technical Steering Group determines what code is actually incorporated into the operating system to accomplish those goals. Tizen roots back to the Samsung Linux Platform (SLP) and the LiMo Project and in 2013 Samsung merged its homegrown Bada project into Tizen. The first week of October 2013, Samsung's NX300M smart camera became the first consumer product based on Tizen; it was sold in South Korea for a month before its OS was revealed at the Tizen Developer Summit, then became available for pre-order in the United States in early 2014 with a release date of March 1. The first Tizen tablet was announced by Systena in June 2013, a 10-inch quad-core ARM with 1920x1200 resolution that was eventually shipped in late October 2013 as part of a development kit exclusive to Japan. The Samsung Gear 2 smartwatch uses Tizen and it was released in April 2014. The Samsung ZEQ 9000 was expected to be the first commercially available smartphone running the operating system, but its planned launch at Mobile World Congress 2014 did not happen. The ZEQ 9000 Tizen smartphone was postponed, prompting The Wall Street Journal to call Tizen "an ill-fated project". Samsung released the Tizen-based Samsung Z1 to the Indian market in January 2015.