Samsung Z1 Tizen OS phone selling better than expected in India

Samsung has been struggling to get back to the success it enjoyed only a few years ago as its products often sell in smaller volumes than expected. Some have blamed the lower than expected sales on devices that were not that different from the products they replaced. Samsung has a bright spot in its low-end smartphone category in India with the Samsung Z1 smartphone.

That device runs the Tizen OS, which is a departure for Samsung from Android that powers the vast majority of its devices. Samsung has announced that sales volume for the Z1 has been stronger than expected since the smartphone launched on January 14 of this year.

So far, Samsung says that 100,000 people have stepped up and purchased the Z1 in India. The sales volume has also grown quickly in Bangladesh reaching 20,000 units since the Z1 went on sale February 3. The appealing factors of the device to buyers in those markets are long battery life and performance for a device in its price range.

The Samsung Z1 sells for 99,000 won in India, which is about $89 US. Samsung is expected to roll out more Tizen smartphones in other developing nations seeking market share often dominated by smaller local players in the mobile phone market such as Micromax from India.

SOURCE: Business Korea