Samsung will launch a high-end model smartphone running its open-source Tizen operating system as soon as August or September, an executive has confirmed to Bloomberg. Tizen is Samsung's alternative to Android, developed in-house, with applications based on HTML 5. 

“The Tizen phone will be out in August or September, and this will be in the high-end category,” Lee Young Hee, executive vice-president of Samsung’s mobile business, told Bloomberg. “The device will be the best product equipped with the best specifications.”

Samsung has yet to sell a Tizen device on the market. Its move to Tizen on at least a few smartphones is thought to be a safety net if something ever goes awry with Google's mobile OS. Samsung is the world's largest Android device manufacturer, also controlling a large majority of the smartphone market.

The company just announced its newest flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, to much fanfare at an event in New York City. Young Hee didn't provide any specifics on what specifications the Tizen smartphone might carry, though it's quite possible S4 features could be included.

According to Bloomberg, Samsung will release three high-spec'd devices in 2013. The Galaxy S4 is one, with a refresh to the Galaxy Note II being another. The Tizen device would be the third. 

Last October, Samsung merged its Bada OS, focusing on lower-end smartphones, with Tizen. Users are said to be getting thousands of applications at launch.