Still not sure what bada is? Here are some general FAQ's

Q: What is Samsung bada?

A: Samsung bada is a smartphone platform unveiled in 2010. “bada” is a Korean word that means “ocean” and “seashore.” “bada” in itself embodies the open possibilities of the ocean: it can accommodate a variety of applications created by developers and it offers an innovative new environment that can provide unprecedented enjoyment to its users.

Samsung bada makes smartphone features and applications available to a wider range of mobile phones. bada is a new blue ocean of mobile applications for developers, and customers will have a wider choice of smartphones with cost-effective yet powerful bada-powered phones.

Q: Where will Samsung position the bada platform and what are significant differences between bada and other smartphone platforms?

A: The bada platform was created to promote the popularization of smartphones. For this, bada is designed to be applied to both high-end phones and phones with a comparative advantage in terms of price. With this unique advantage, bada can help make smartphones significantly more widespread as it will attract customers in various age and social groups.

Samsung established a strategy of creating a new smartphone for everyone‘s generation by bringing the concept of “My First Smartphone“ to more customers based on the advantages of the bada platform presented earlier. This means many Samsung customers will be able to utilize a multitude of applications using bada phones.

On top of that, bada will be the blue ocean for worldwide mobile application developers since competitively-priced bada phones are expected to be distributed in greater numbers than higher-end phones.

Q: How long has Samsung been developing the bada platform? And what milestones has Samsung reached in bada platform development?

A: The bada 1.0 beta version was first released in May 2010, and was subsequently upgraded to version 1.2, and in February 2011 at the MWC, Samsung announced the release of version 2.0. Although it has been just over 2 years since bada was released to the public and developers, it incorporates all of the investments and capability that Samsung Electronics had been putting into its mobile platforms over the last ten years. Samsung Electronics has been releasing mobile phones embedded with its own mobile platforms for ten years and ‘Star,’ one of such series, recorded sales of about 10 million within the first six months after its release.

While the bada operating system is relatively new to the field, it utilizes technological advances and experience that could not be achieved overnight. While promoting technological innovations for mobile phones, Samsung Electronics has continuously developed and accumulated new functions including multipoint-touch, 3D graphics, and enhanced UI while developing bada. Thus, the bada platform can be said to clearly contain the mobile platform history of Samsung with regard to its reliability and performance.

Q: Samsung has featured a wide array of platforms, including Windows Mobile, Linux and Android. What kind of effects does Samsung anticipate to achieve from this multi-platform strategy?

A: The smartphone market is still changing rapidly. There is great uncertainty over which OS will lead the market in the future. In addition, various OS-related needs exist among different regions, customers, and operators around the world.

As a true global player, Samsung is moving forward by diversifying its operating systems to satisfy various customer needs and actively responding to the demands of the smartphone market.

Q: Is Samsung bada open source?

A: No, it is not. Although we won’t open the source code of bada, we will open API for developers meaning developers have full access to the Samsung platform. It is still not decided whether the platform will be made available to other manufacturers and operators yet.

Q: How has Samsung’s multi-OS strategy changed since 2010?

A: As a true global player, Samsung has a responsibility to satisfy every customer’s needs and actively respond to the demands of the smart phone market. To follow trends and meet market needs, we are targeting continuous growth in the smart phone business based on our multi-platform strategy. Samsung is one of the very few companies that are capable of offering such a diverse line-up of products for the market, whether they are on Android, bada or Windows Phone 7.

For more info about bada please visit developer.bada.com