Samsung plans to open up its bada mobile software platform to external developers and device makers next year, reports the
Wall Street Journal.
Boosting the uptake of bada in this way would allow Samsung to reduce its reliance on Google Android in the wake of the search giant’s plans to acquire Motorola Mobility. The concern is that other smartphone makers using Android could receive the latest developments of the OS later than Motorola.
Bada will become an open source platform according to a
Wall Street Journal source and there are no plans for Samsung to buy another software company. Samsung is also looking to make Bada into a broader software platform for use with the company’s internet-connected smart TV line-up.
Samsung recently launched
a software development kit for the bada 2.0 update – announced at Mobile World Congress earlier this year - in another bid to extend the reach of its OS. The company also announced
three new handsets running bada 2.0, due to be launched by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, bada handsets will reportedly be a significant part of
the company’s increased manufacturing activity in India.
The South Korean company overtook Nokia to become the world’s second largest smartphone vendor in the last quarter, according to Strategy Analytics. However the company is embroiled in
a patent dispute with number one smartphone vendor Apple that has forced it to delay or stop selling its Galaxy Tab tablet computer and other Android devices.