Samsung announced Bada in early November, without offering many details on the technology, or even making it clear what operating system it runs on. Now, the company has provided just slightly more information, stating that Bada can run on top of Linux or an RTOS kernel. This suggests that the product is best described as a set of APIs and middleware, not a unified OS platform.

Samsung produces feature phones and smartphones using a welter of different operating systems, including Android, BREW, Java, Symbian, and Windows Mobile. (Its most successful Windows phones have tended to be messaging-oriented devices with miniature QWERTY keyboards, such as the Blackjack , the SGH-i617 BlackJack II, the SGH-i637 Jack, and the SCH-i220, but the manufacturer has also used Windows for high-end touchscreen devices such as the Omnia II shown at right.)

Named after the Korean word for "ocean," Bada appears to be destined only for Samsung-built phones. In this way, it is somewhat akin to Palm's Linux-based WebOS, which offers an open API to encourage third-party developers, but runs only on Palm-made devices.

Bada is said to be based on a next-generation version of Samsungs cross-platform, widget-based TouchWiz UI, currently offered on Samsung smartphones running a variety of OSes. (Windows phones employing the UI include not only the Omnia II pictured above, but also the Omnia Pro B7610 and Omnia Lite B7300.) Bada also embeds Adobe Flash and the open source WebKit browser directly into native Bada applications, according to Samsung.

The Bada platform offers a map control that can be embedded in applications to offer interactive mapping and routing with POI features (pictured at left), says Samsung. Additional UI features include flash control, web control, motion sensing, fine-tuned vibration control, and face detection, says the company.

In addition, Bada is said to leverage a phone's accelerometers, as well as tilt, weather, proximity, and activity sensors, in order to provide contextual feedback for applications.

At yesterday's official unveiling of Bada in London, which one reporter called a jargon-filled "waste of time," Samsung was said to have promoted Bada as a mobile gaming platform. The event featured testimonials from partners including game publishers CAPCOM, EA Mobile, and Gameloft, as well as Twitter and Blockbuster.

OUR VERDICT: Do smartphone developers really need yet another platform to worry about?

As with other mobile UI layers like the MotoBlur service offered on Motorola phones such as the Android-based Cliq, or Vodafone's "360" service offered on the Samsung manufactured LiMo (Linux Mobile) based H1 and M1 phones, Bada provides service-centric features supported by back-end servers. These are said to include social networking integration, device synchronization, content management, location-based services, and commerce services.

Bada-based social networking applications can manage user profiles, including buddy information for application users, as well as integrate most popular social networking services, says Samsung. Device synchronization applications, meanwhile, can take advantage of PIM and contacts synchronization between Bada devices and servers, says the company. Content management applications can store and search contents on devices and servers, and location-aware applications are able to use service-provided landmark stores, maps, and geo-coding services, says the company.

Messaging dynamics between Bada client and servers
(Click to enlarge)

Although not billed as being open source, Bada offers an open C++ API framework for the UI layer and "enables developers to take full advantage of mobile device capabilities to create compelling applications with ease," says Samsung. Developers can make use of device functions to make phone calls, send messages, or access the contact list, says the company. Service applications are said to be able to share information, protected by "simple user confirmations," such as personal profiles, social relations, schedules, or content.

Bada's TouchWiz-based UI examples
(Click to enlarge)

The API framework documentation is available for download along with a software development kit (SDK) and an Eclipse-based interactive development environment (IDE). Bada's architecture is divided into kernel, device, service, and framework layers (see diagram below). The device layer provides core functions like system and security management, graphics, windowing, data protocols, telephony, and multimedia management.


Bada architecture

The service layer provides the service-centric functions furnished by application engines and web-service components that interact with Bada Server. On top of that sits the framework layer that runs the UI. "Only the framework layer can export the open API," says Samsung, suggesting that customization is available only at the UI layer, not to underlying functions.

Samsung also offered more details on its previously announced Bada Developer Challenge, stating that it will hand out prizes to the most innovative Bada applications totaling a whopping $2,700,000. As was previously announced, Samsung will announce a series of Developer Days to be held in Seoul, London, San Francisco, and elsewhere, and the first phones running Bada should be available by the second quarter of 2010.

Application lifecycles in Bada
(Click to enlarge)

Stated Michel Guillemot, chairman and CEO, Gameloft, "Samsung Bada offers a new and exciting digital distribution channel for Gameloft titles, as well as an additional outlet for users searching for high quality entertainment."

Stated Dr. Hosoo Lee, Executive VP and Head of the Media Solution Center at Samsung Electronics, "Samsung Bada presents a powerful opportunity for developers to get their applications onto an unprecedented number of Samsung devices across the world."

Availability

The Samsung Bada API Framework reference, SDK, and IDE are available for free download now. More information may be found at the Bada developer website, here, and more technical information may be found here. The download page for the SDK and IDE may be found here.

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