Samsung introducing Tizen smartphones this year, reducing reliance on Google’s Android

Samsung has announced it plans to unveil new smartphones running the Tizen platform, which the Korean electronics giant co-developed with Intel, in a bid to reduce its reliance on Google and Android.

According to Bloomberg, the move comes in response to Google’s purchase of mobile phone giant Motorola Mobility last year.

Alongside Intel, Samsung has also signed up Japanese telco giant NTT DoCoMo and multinational mobile carrier Vodafone as partners in its Tizen Association partnership.

“We plan to release new, competitive Tizen devices within this year and will keep expanding the line-up depending on market conditions,”the South Korean electronics giant says in a statement.

The news comes after Samsung claimed the title of the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer from Nokia, buoyed by sales of its popular Android devices such as its Galaxy Tab tablets and its Galaxy S3 smartphones.

The electronics giant is planning to make inroads into the lucrative software and services market during 2013.