After it was said that Samsung’s first Tizen device had been delayed, it was rumored that Tizen is actually “almost dead.” Rumor was that Samsung would only release one Tizen device, that too next year. This OS has been developed by Samsung in collaboration with Intel, apparently both companies were going to work on another device that was going to run on Android. Despite those rumors, it has been announced that both Samsung and Intel are formally launching the Tizen App Challenge from tomorrow. Developers who can “redefine the mobile experience” will collectively receive over $4 million in rewards.
This challenge is said to be an indicator that the Tizen project is not going to be abandoned, contrary to rumors. More than 50 developers in nine categories will be eligible for receiving a total of $4.04 million. The challenge will be open from tomorrow, submissions are due by November 1, 2013. Between November 4 and 25, these submissions will be judged. The winners will be announced sometime in December. An award ceremony to recognize the grand prize winners will be held next year. For Games categories, the grand prize is $200,000 and for the non-Games category its $120,000. Games will be judged on visual design, performance, entertainment value and controls/input. Other apps will be judged on performance, visual design, usefulness as well as controls and input. The top 10 HTML5 apps will be eligible for additional prizes of $50,000 each. More details are available on the Tizen App Challenge website.