Samsung prepares to launch Tizen smartphone in India, Russia

Samsung is reportedly planning to launch a new smartphone in India and Russia based on the company's homegrown Tizen operating system.

The handset will be unveiled at an Unpacked event in Moscow in coming weeks.

According to CNET, the operating system, which is open-source but has Android elements that the company licenses from Google, offers mobile carriers a chance to embrace an open operating system that it can customize to better directly serve its subscribers.

The move is seen as the South Korean electronics giant's attempt to distance itself a little from Google and its Android operating system, on which the company heavily relies presently.

Earlier, Samsung said that it expected to launch its first Tizen-based smartphone toward the end of the second quarter, the report added.