The arrival of Ubuntu, Firefox OS and Tizen 2.0 has certainly made the world of mobile operating systems a bit crowded. While Sony is going after a low end phone strategy by choosing Mozilla’s browser-based OS, Samsung appears to be more ambitious as it is going with Tizen and the Tizen 2.0 running reference device that the company showed off at MWC might be a proof of high end devices to come.

The 720p resolution developer phone runs version 2.0 of Tizen which is meant to run both native and HTML5 apps, or a mix of the two (the Vimeo app is an example), unlike the Firefox OS.

As you will see in the video from Engadget below, the OS has familiarities to what you get with many other modern OSes. You have to slide from left to right at the bottom of the display to unlock the screen to get to the home screen with a grid of apps. Swipe down from the top to reach the notification area which lets you adjust brightness and access Settings, and long press on the physical home button for the multi-tasking screen. Check out the video below to see the device in action.

As for when a Tizen 2.0 powered device will be available, Japanese NTT DoCoMo has announced that it will introduce one sometime in the future, while France Telecom-Orange will launch Huawei and Samsung devices later this year. In case you are wondering, in the US Sprint will most probably be the first carrier to offer one as the carrier became part of the Tizen Association in 2012.

It’s too early to say which new OS will become more popular in the future, but Tizen certainly has the advantage of heavy support from Intel, Samsung and other companies.

[Source]

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The second can be used to measure body fat and muscle bulk. I’m not entirely sure how it does that, but it certainly shows that cell phone jackets can do more than just protect the phone. There’s also another one that can be used to measure the alcohol content, preventing you from getting behind the wheel if you’re a little tipsy. It can even measure bad breath!

Another app allows you to take a photo of your food and it will automatically calculate the approximate calorie count for that dish. There’s some interesting algorithm stuff going on in there. Similarly, there’s one to check your hunger level based on your breath, analyzing your fat burning. Presumably, all of these different sensors would work in tandem with an appropriate smartphone application. They’re not ready “any time soon,” but they do show some intriguing promise.

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I don’t believe in hacking up co2 breathing forests for any reason, so lets hope this limited edition TouchWood Hinoki smartphone from NTT Docomo uses Japanese Cypress trees (Hinoki) from a farm or other renewable source. With that said, a natural wood back plate of the SH-08C smartphone is rather beautiful. The promo video they did for the phone is also brilliant, using tuned pieces of wood like a xylophone to play Bach’s Jesu.

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a Sith Lord promoted a smartphone ironically called the Galaxy. It almost sounds like a match made in heaven, but Darth Vader has somehow become the spokesperson for the Samsung Galaxy S phone in Japan.

NTT DoCoMo is Japan’s largest cell phone carrier, and it has enlisted the services of Anakin Skywalker to market the popular Samsung Android smartphone. The Dark Lord of the Sith has already been seen in a series of posters and viral video clips for the company, and now it’s been revealed that he’s promoting the Galaxy not so far away in a time not exactly long ago.

This isn’t the first time that Star Wars has officially infiltrated the Android universe either. Your favorite trashcan-looking bot R2-D2 has already lent his likeness to the special Motorola DROID R2-D2 edition. If this relationship is to be understood, Samsung’s aligned with the Empre and Motorola’s with the Rebel Alliance?

Where does this leave HTC in the Android battlefield? They’re stuck being the Jawas and Ewoks in this battle? Does this make iOS like, I don’t know, Star Trek then?  It could be worse, KDDI AU has Lady Gaga on their Android devices, take your pick. [Mobile Crunch]

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The cell phone industry in Japan is easily among the most innovative in the world, shoehorning crazy features like 12-megapixel cameras and dual digital TV tuners into their handsets. Going to another level is the newly revealed Fujitsu F-04B, the world’s first phone with a separable two-module body.

While it seems like it could have similar functionality as something like the LG Versa, this Separate Keitai from Fujitsu (keitai is the Japanese word for handset) is still quite unique in its approach.

One part of the phone takes on the 3.4-inch touchscreen display, as well as a 12.2-megapixel camera, a secondary camera, an accelerometer, Blu-ray recorder connection, and e-wallet functionality. The other part features either a full numeric keypad or QWERTY keyboard, as well as an accelerometer.

Instead of requiring a physical connection between the two, the two components of the Fujitsu F-04B actually link up with one another via Bluetooth and are “magnetically joined” so you don’t lose any of the pieces.

According to Fujitsu, you can hold the keyboard section to your ear and hold the display slate at arm’s length during video calls. You can also choose to keep the touchscreen portion close to a window for better signal strength while you walk to the other end of the room with the keyboard portion to chat.

Despite the constant requirement for Bluetooth, the phone is said to boast 2,000 hours of standby and 500 minutes of talk time. That’s triple what is normally expected of Japanese cell phones. Look for the Fujitsu F-04B to hit NTT DoCoMo in March or April for $660.

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