Samsung Plans Multiple Tizen Smartphones for 2013

Samsung’s intentions for Tizen, the Linux-based mobile platform it’s developing with Intel, grow clearer by the day. Earlier this week, we learned that NTT Docomo, Japan’s largest wireless carrier, has quietly signed on to help bring a Tizen handset to market. Now comes news that the device will be one of many that Samsung plans to debut this year.

“We plan to release new, competitive Tizen devices within this year and will keep expanding the lineup depending on market conditions,” Samsung said in a statement today. The company offered no details beyond that, but the message is clear: This isn’t a tentative move. It’s a decisive one, intended to lessen the company’s reliance on Google’s Android operating system.

That said, Samsung’s Android portfolio isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. It is key to the company’s continued success in the mobile market. So expect Tizen to begin as more of a regional play that could evolve into a global one if — if — it gathers the necessary momentum.