Tizen Association gains 36 new members, including Nokia HERE and Sharp

Intel and Samsung are two of the biggest backers of Tizen, an in-development software platform that's intended for use on smartphones and tablets as well as netbooks and smart TVs.
They aren't the only companies that have gotten behind Tizen, though, and today the platform got a major boost of support in the form of 36 new Tizen Association members.
The Tizen Association revealed earlier today that it's launching a new partner program aimed at gaining support for Tizen from a wider range of manufacturers, carriers and developers. The program is starting out with 36 members that will take part in Tizen Association meetings at which they can learn more about the Tizen platform and possibly even provide input into the development of the actual operating system. So who exactly are the newest members of Team Tizen? The 36 companies that are joining Tizen's new partner program are:

• 11 Bit Studios
• ACCESS
• appbackr
• AppCarousel
• ArtSpark Holdings
• Celsys Inc.
• Citymaps
• Crucial Tec
• eBay
• F@N Communications
• Goo Technologies
• HERE, a Nokia business
• HI Corporation
• Igalia S.L.
• KeyPoint Technologies
• KONAMI
• Konantech
• McAfee
• Mobica
• Monotype Imaging Inc.
• Mutecsoft
• Neos Corporation
• NTT Data MSE
• OpenMobile
• Panasonic
• PCPhase
• Quixey
• Reaktor Fusion
• Sharp
• Symphony Teleca
• Systena
• The Weather Channel
• Tieto
• TrendMicro
• TuneIn Radio
• YoYo Games

That's a pretty varied list of companies that includes some pretty big names, including eBay, Nokia's HERE business, Panasonic and Sharp. It's still not clear exactly when the first Tizen-powered phones or tablets will be unleashed upon the public — a recent rumor suggested they'll be coming in 2014 — but that hasn't stopped the platform from gaining developer and manufacturer support. Exactly how much of that will lead to actual apps and other types of support at launch remains to be seen, but for now I'm sure that the Tizen Association is just happy to be gaining so many partners. The Tizen Assocation's full announcement of today's partner program launch can be found at the link below.