Samsung Launches 3 Wave Models to Run on Bada 2.0 OS

Samsung unveiled three smartphone models which run on Samsung's own bada OS, in an attempt to diversify its product lineup which heavily focuses on Google's Android. The unveiling of the new Wave models by Samsung, a major Android OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), is considered a major strategic development for the firm which was focusing only on hardware markets.

Samsung also aims at bringing its different products including smartphones, televisions, printers and computers under its own software platform and online application store Samsung Apps, a Reuters report said.

The three new models from Samsung are Wave 3, with a 4-inch AMOLED screen and a 5-megapixel camera, a cheaper Wave M and a Wave Y. The Wave M will have Samsung's first instant messaging tool chatON, and the entry-level Wave Y with a 3.2-inch display will go on sale in October.

Bada OS-run phones were first sold in May 2010 as part of Samsung's strategy to focus on emerging markets with cheaper phones costing $200 or below. Samsung claims that Bada will rapidly replace its proprietary feature phone platform, effectively converting feature phones to smartphones.

Samsung's first phone running the Bada platform was the Wave S8500. The Wave is a slim touch-screen phone powered by Samsung's Hummingbird CPU (S5PC110), which includes a 1 GHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU and a built-in PowerVR SGX 3D graphics engine, Super AMOLED screen and 720p high-def video capabilities. The S8500 is, however, as of now, a defunct model. The Samsung S8530 Wave II, which runs on bada 1.2 has a 3.7-inch Super Clear capacitive LCD touchscreen.

The Wave series will allow access to Samsung Apps, equipped with around 13,000 applications, which, however, is dwarfed by more than 100,000 applications available in the Android market and over 300,000 apps from Apple's App Store.