The Tizen open-source operating system has been made available as an Alpha-stage release in an attempt to garner interest from developers looking for alternatives to Android, iOS, and other platforms. The new OS is targeted at smart TVs, netbooks, and in-vehicle information systems.

Although classed as an "extremely early release" and therefore not suitable for production environments, Tizen's team has provided operating system source code, including middleware, basic UI, and menu interfaces. In addition to a Tizen SDK preview, there is also a web IDE, an emulator, web API documentation, and supporting Toolchain.

Despite its small fish in big pond status, Tizen has enjoyed backing from Intel, Samsung, and other vendors. Intel's interest is arguably the most curious connection here after the company dropped its support for the MeeGo operating system. The Linux-based platform includes an HTML5 application framework and additional cross-device "user experience" functionality in its interface.

The current Alpha preview is intended for developers to review and provide feedback on Tizen through a general mailing list (for community facing queries) and an application developer mailing list (for questions or feedback about development for applications that will run on top of Tizen using the Tizen SDK and APIs).

The Tizen project resides within the Linux Foundation and is governed by a technical steering group. Tizen-based devices have been discussed for release as early as mid-2012. A group called the Tizen Association has been formed to guide the industry role of Tizen, including gathering of requirements, identification and facilitation of service models, as well as overall industry marketing and education.