Samsung has made a belated push into the smartphone applications space with the launch of a new open mobile platform called bada, which will go live next month. The move is a strategy by the world’s second-largest handset vendor to compete with the applications platforms from the likes of Apple (App Store), Google (Android Market) and Nokia (Ovi). Samsung said bada (which means ‘ocean’ in Korean) will enable developers to create applications for “millions” of new Samsung mobile devices. The platform will complement Samsung’s existing mobile applications store. Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi told the Financial Times that Samsung’s bada smartphones were likely to cost between US$80 and US$220; “Samsung are targeting low to mid-end smartphones, which feels like another kick to Nokia,” she said.

Samsung established its mobile application ecosystem via the launch of Samsung Mobile Innovator in 2008 and the subsequent launches of the Samsung Application Seller Site and the Samsung Application Store. The official bada website, which launches today, features a range of information on bada including updates on product launches, features, and event notices. Samsung will also host an official launch event for bada in London in December and will unveil its bada software development kit (SDK) to developers for the first time on this date. According to the website, the first bada smartphones will launch in the first half of next year.