Launched two years ago, it's still not clear what Samsung's plans are for its bada operating system.

Originally labelled as a platform for low and mid-range devices for developing markets, the company has since extended its functionality with the release of bada 2.0 in August 2011.

In November, it announced it had shipped eight million bada devices, while it's also been suggested that 17 percent of its UK phone shipments in 2013 could be running the OS.

There are even rumours it might turn up on tablets.

Fold into Linux

Trumping them all, however, is confirmation, according to Forbes, that Samsung is working with the open source Tizen project to try and merge the two.

In some ways, this makes sense as bada is effectively a series of APIs layers running on top of a Linux core, while Tizen (part of The Linux Foundation) is the end result of the Linux-based MeeGo OS originally worked on by Nokia and Intel, prior to Nokia's decision to standardise on Windows Phone.

Indeed, the hook up has been previously rumoured back in September. 

The point of the collaboration would be to enable Samsung to have a unified platform that it can use across a full spectrum of devices - from low-end phones to high-end smartphones, tablets, netbooks, cars and TVs.

It would also provide a back up option should Google restrict use of Android, which currently powers the majority of Samsung's devices.

According to Tae-Jin Kang, Samsung's SVP, Contents Planning Team, the company could release a couple of Tizen-powered devices in 2012, although he warned that it would remain a minority option.

"Tizen will not become Samsung's main operating platform anytime soon," he said.

[source: Forbes]