Samsung Electronics Co Ltd plans to launch the first smartphone based on its Tizen operating system in the third quarter, marking the company's latest bid to build up its own ecosystem and reduce reliance on Google Inc's Android. The South Korean firm on Monday said the Samsung Z, which comes with a 4.8 inch high-definition display and offers features such as a fingerprint sensor, will be unveiled at the Tizen Developer Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday. Samsung did not offer sales forecasts or how much the phone will sell for, though an executive told Reuters in April that the company is working on at least two models powered by Tizen and that will be released "in a few countries where we can do well." The Samsung Z would be the latest effort by the electronics giant to build momentum for Tizen, with its Gear 2 smartwatches also powered by the platform. The majority of Samsung's mobile devices are based on Google's Android platform.



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