Between Android and Tizen, Linux is also at the heart of Samsung's ability to compete with and overtake Apple. As a platinum member of the Linux Foundation, Samsung will have more control than ever over the highly flexible OS, which is supported by a global community of 800 companies and 8,000 developers.

In short, this is a really exciting move. Jim Zemlin, the Linux Foundation's executive director, summed it up nicely in a yesterday: “The world’s largest device maker is investing so much in Linux because it understands the power of collaborative development and its role in today’s technology market. Market winners are being defined by their ability to collaborate. Period.”