Systena began shipping what appears to be the first new mobile device to run the Linux-based Tizen OS. Aimed at developers in Japan, the Systena tablet runs Tizen 2.1 on a quad-core, 1.4GHz Cortex-A9 system-on-chip, features a 10.1-inch (1920 x 1200) display, and offers 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage.

Japanese tech firm Systena first announced the Tizen tablet back in June, and the specs don’t appear to have changed much since then. As originally reported, the tablet features a 1.4GHz, quad-core Cortex-A9 processor along with 2GB of DDR3 RAM, 32GB of flash, and a microSD slot. The 10.1-inch display offers 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution, and there’s both a 2-megapixel rear-facing camera, as well as a 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera. Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi round out the mix.

Systena tablet
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There’s still no price on the tablet, which is aimed at Tizen developers in Japan and comes with Systena development tools, documentation, and technical services. As seen in photos from s-max.jp taken at the tablet’s unveiling this week at Japan IT Week 2013, the table offers a thin profile with some I/O protected in a recessed compartment. The tablet also appears to offer peripheral support including stylus, keyboard, mouse, gamepad, and printer options.

Systena tablet, top view
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The still unnamed Systena tablet may be the first new device to run Tizen — last month Tizen was also seen running on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4 phone — but we don’t imagine that distinction will last for long. Back in September, the same Tizen Indonesia site that reported Systena’s unveiling [translated] of the tablet this week, said that Samsung would introduce its first Tizen-based phones in October. The previously tipped GT-I8800 model was expected to ship in Japan, France, the U.S., China, and Russia, said the story. Samsung was originally expected to release the phone in the second quarter, but said it would delay until later in the year.

Back in June, another site called TizenExperts said that Japanese carrier and major Tizen backer NTT DoCoMo would sell the Systena tablet. At the Tizen Developers Conference the previous month, NTT DoCoMo and Orange promised Tizen smartphone launches in 2013.

Systena tablet, side view
(click image to enlarge)
 

Tizen was one of the first of the new wave of mobile open source Linux operating systems to be announced, but the Linux Foundation hosted platform has in many ways been the most hidden from view. This is largely due to major influence of Samsung, one of the two big backers of the project along with Intel. The big question is how hard Samsung will push the OS considering it’s said to be the only manufacturer making any real money on Android devices.

Tizen’s delays and the general mystery surrounding the project, has enabled other mobile Linux platforms to gain attention. Mozilla’s Firefox OS to has now tapped a third manufacturer — LG and its new Fireweb phone — and Firefox OS phones are already available in a number of countries, including as of this week, Brazil. Canonical’s Ubuntu phones look as if they may be delayed until a year from now, but the first Ubuntu Touch builds available for Android Nexus phones shipped last week. The underdog of the bunch, Jolla’s Jolla phone which runs the MeeGo-based Sailfish OS, is still in pre-orders. However, is expected to ship by the end of the year, complete with new Android compatibility.
 

Further information

The Systena Tizen tablet appears to be available now to developers at an unstated price. More information may be found at Systena’s Tizen page.