NHN Japan, the producer of the wildly popular Line chat app, announced yesterday that it has partnered with Nokia (NYSE:NOK) aiming to accelerate the app’s global user acquisition. The company is making the app available on Nokia’s Asha handset, a low priced smartphone (ranging from $100 to $200) that has topped more than 200 million units sold globally. Line will be available on the Nokia Store by the end of March, but some features such as free voice calls will be added later on after the initial release. With this partnership, NHN Japan is targeting new users in South East Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa where Nokia’s budget Asha handset is popular. The two companies will work together to promote the handset and the app at merchant storefronts in these regions. The Line app is now available on several different mobile platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and even Japanese feature phones. Currently at the Nokia Booth at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, a test version of the app is installed on exhibited Asha handsets so that visitors can try it out. Japanese tech news site RBB Today has several still images of this, which they…
NHN Japan, the producer of the wildly popular Line chat app, announced yesterday that it has partnered with Nokia (NYSE:NOK) aiming to accelerate the app’s global user acquisition. The company is making the app available on Nokia’s Asha handset, a low priced smartphone (ranging from $100 to $200) that has topped more than 200 million units sold globally.
Line will be available on the Nokia Store by the end of March, but some features such as free voice calls will be added later on after the initial release. With this partnership, NHN Japan is targeting new users in South East Asia, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa where Nokia’s budget Asha handset is popular. The two companies will work together to promote the handset and the app at merchant storefronts in these regions.
The Line app is now available on several different mobile platforms including iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and even Japanese feature phones. Currently at the Nokia Booth at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, a test version of the app is installed on exhibited Asha handsets so that visitors can try it out. Japanese tech news site RBB Today has several still images of this, which they shot at the exhibition booth.
Line recently surpassed the 100 million user milestone, having originally launched back in June of 2011. If you’d like to learn more about it, check out our video overview of the app below.
For more information on the growth of Line, please check out our interactive Line Timeline which chronicles its growth from its launch back in 2011 up until the present day.
We’ve covered the cutthroat chat application war in the Japanese market in a recent post, illustrating how NHN Japan’s Line leads the game so far, with DeNA’s Comm and KakaoTalk as distant runners-up. As if there weren’t enough chat apps already, CyberAgent (TYO:4751) just launched yet another player, but this one has a slightly different angle. Decolink (yes, it’s another Deco-something app!) is CyberAgent’s newly minted application for iOS and Android, which is aming to snag teenage girls as its target users. The app lets you chat with a maximum of 100 friends, and you can also change the background image and fonts for different chat windows. This latter ability to customize the look of a product is essential when the primarily target market is younger girls. What’s even more essential perhaps are the decorative stamps, of which Decolink provides over 10,000. Stamps are often cited as the major reason behind Line’s huge success so far. Sort of like emoji on steriods, people often use stamps in chat to express themselves instead of using text. In much the same way that a Facebook Like is a sort of mindless response that doesn’t require any words, stamps are often used…
We’ve covered the cutthroat chat application war in the Japanese market in a recent post, illustrating how NHN Japan’s Line leads the game so far, with DeNA’s Comm and KakaoTalk as distant runners-up. As if there weren’t enough chat apps already, CyberAgent (TYO:4751) just launched yet another player, but this one has a slightly different angle.
Decolink (yes, it’s another Deco-something app!) is CyberAgent’s newly minted application for iOS and Android, which is aming to snag teenage girls as its target users. The app lets you chat with a maximum of 100 friends, and you can also change the background image and fonts for different chat windows. This latter ability to customize the look of a product is essential when the primarily target market is younger girls.
What’s even more essential perhaps are the decorative stamps, of which Decolink provides over 10,000. Stamps are often cited as the major reason behind Line’s huge success so far. Sort of like emoji on steriods, people often use stamps in chat to express themselves instead of using text. In much the same way that a Facebook Like is a sort of mindless response that doesn’t require any words, stamps are often used in the same way among many Japanese users.
Deco-disrupter?
CyberAgent does have a competitive advantage, as the company runs the huge Ameba Blog platform which had more than 20 million users as of January 2012. The platform is widely used by Japanese people including celebrities. Through cross-promotions with other products under the Ameba umbrella, Decolink might be able to eclipse some of the other chat app competitors — although it’s unlikely that it could catch Line.
Decolink was developed by a team within CyberAgent that creates products dedicated for teens. I have to wonder if these cute, more feminine stamps are a key differeciator from Line, and if any teenage girls will take the bait. We’ll find out sooner or later, so stay tuned.
Having surpassed the 100 million user milestone, NHN Japan’s popular chat application Line has been a great example of the social potential that lies in mobile. Currently in Asia, it seems that each major region has its own local favorite. For example Korea has KakaoTalk, and China has WeChat/Weixin. Japan’s choice is — overwhelmingly — Line. With about 41.5 million out of its 100 million users in Japan, that means that nearly everyone who has a smartphone in Japan is on Line, since smartphone penetration is said to be about that same total. In comparison, KakaoTalk has about 9 million users in Japan right now, making it a distant second. For those of you who have yet to try Line, check out our video demonstration above of its major features below, showing a few of the many reasons why Japan thinks it’s so great. As you can see, one of the major innovations of this app – in my view – is how it has leveraged chat as a platform to distribute its others mobile apps and services. NHN Japan is expected to make a strong international push with Line in 2013, aiming for as many as 300 million to…
Having surpassed the 100 million user milestone, NHN Japan’s popular chat application Line has been a great example of the social potential that lies in mobile. Currently in Asia, it seems that each major region has its own local favorite. For example Korea has KakaoTalk, and China has WeChat/Weixin.
Japan’s choice is — overwhelmingly — Line.
With about 41.5 million out of its 100 million users in Japan, that means that nearly everyone who has a smartphone in Japan is on Line, since smartphone penetration is said to be about that same total. In comparison, KakaoTalk has about 9 million users in Japan right now, making it a distant second.
For those of you who have yet to try Line, check out our video demonstration above of its major features below, showing a few of the many reasons why Japan thinks it’s so great. As you can see, one of the major innovations of this app – in my view – is how it has leveraged chat as a platform to distribute its others mobile apps and services.
NHN Japan is expected to make a strong international push with Line in 2013, aiming for as many as 300 million to 400 million users.
For more information on the growth of Line, please check out our interactive Line Timeline which chronicles its growth from its launch back in 2011 up until the present day.
Japanese several news resources report today that NHN Japan, most known for its wildly popular Line messaging app, is considering splitting the company into two entities corresponding to its business fields. Its online game portal Hangame is expected to be handled under the existing company but may change its name to Hangame Corporation (tentative), and the Line app, search portal Naver, and news portal and blogging platform Livedoor (acquired from Livedoor Corp in April of 2010) will be handed over to a new company called Line Corporation (tentative title). The split is expected to take place on April 1st, 2013. In the interests of intensifying international marketing efforts for the Line app, the company is also planning to set up a special company called Line Plus Corporation, which will be jointly funded by Line Corporation and NHN Corporation (the parent company in Korea). As many of our readers know, NHN Japan recently announced that Line has acquired more than 100 million users worldwide in January, and the company reportedly has intentions to grow the app to as many as 300 or 400 million by the end of 2013. In the social media space, that would put it in pretty exclusive company, likely…
Japanese several news resources report today that NHN Japan, most known for its wildly popular Line messaging app, is considering splitting the company into two entities corresponding to its business fields. Its online game portal Hangame is expected to be handled under the existing company but may change its name to Hangame Corporation (tentative), and the Line app, search portal Naver, and news portal and blogging platform Livedoor (acquired from Livedoor Corp in April of 2010) will be handed over to a new company called Line Corporation (tentative title). The split is expected to take place on April 1st, 2013.
In the interests of intensifying international marketing efforts for the Line app, the company is also planning to set up a special company called Line Plus Corporation, which will be jointly funded by Line Corporation and NHN Corporation (the parent company in Korea).
As many of our readers know, NHN Japan recently announced that Line has acquired more than 100 million users worldwide in January, and the company reportedly has intentions to grow the app to as many as 300 or 400 million by the end of 2013. In the social media space, that would put it in pretty exclusive company, likely making it a top five global social network.
For more information on the growth of Line, please check out our interactive Line Timeline which chronicles its growth from its launch back in 2011 up until the present day.
Line, one of the most popular smartphone apps in Japan, recently reached the 100 million user milestone. The free chat application was made by NHN Japan Corporation, and launched back in June of 2011. The app makes use of the user’s phone directory, allowing them to get connected with people they actually know in real life. Sound familiar? Yes, Line is in many ways aspiring to be Japan’s Facebook — the primary difference being that Line is a social service born entirely on mobile. Line is gaining popularity around the Asia region with about half of it’s users coming from outside Japan. Many celebrities in Japan are using the app including current prime minister Abe Shinzo who joined the service in January. The biggest reason behind the app’s success lies in the timing of its release. It came during a time when not-so-tech-savvy mainstream users began switching from feature phones to smartphones. With a completely different and unfamiliar tool, people turned to Line for help. With Line, all you needed to get connected with friends was their phone number. And everyone with a phone has that already. Ubiquity, and beyond! Line was first adopted by younger users but gradually gained…
Line, one of the most popular smartphone apps in Japan, recently reached the 100 million user milestone. The free chat application was made by NHN Japan Corporation, and launched back in June of 2011. The app makes use of the user’s phone directory, allowing them to get connected with people they actually know in real life. Sound familiar? Yes, Line is in many ways aspiring to be Japan’s Facebook — the primary difference being that Line is a social service born entirely on mobile.
Line is gaining popularity around the Asia region with about half of it’s users coming from outside Japan. Many celebrities in Japan are using the app including current prime minister Abe Shinzo who joined the service in January. The biggest reason behind the app’s success lies in the timing of its release. It came during a time when not-so-tech-savvy mainstream users began switching from feature phones to smartphones. With a completely different and unfamiliar tool, people turned to Line for help. With Line, all you needed to get connected with friends was their phone number. And everyone with a phone has that already.
Ubiquity, and beyond!
Line was first adopted by younger users but gradually gained popularity over mainstream users including seniors. With over 100 million users, it is the new digital marketing platform. To better take advantage of Line, many companies are conducting user surveys. A survey of married couples and their usage of Line was a particularly interesting one. It targeted 800 married men and women of age 20 to 40. 39.5% responded that the app increased communication with their spouse. 29.4% of respondents answered that their spousal relationship has improved since using the app.
But since last summer, the chat app has become more of a platform than just smartphone chat application. NHN began providing a service named Line Channel in July of 2012, a year after the app’s initial release. On Line Channel, users are able to enjoy games, fortune-telling, and even discount coupons. One game, Line Pop, has been downloaded over 20 million times worldwide as of January 2013, just two months after it’s release.
But there is a cutthroat war brewing in the chat application market. Line is no doubt the pioneer in Japan, but DeNA’s Comm and Korea’s KakaoTalk have jumped in the ring recently too. At the end of 2012, Comm had been downloaded more than five million times since it’s October launch. Kakao Talk had about 70 million users as of December 2012, with 18 million of those overseas, and about 4 million of those in Japan.
We were in touch with the CEO of Viber this week as well, who pointed out that they are hoping to make a renewed push in Asia where the app has 50 million users in total. Interestingly, six million of those are in Japan.
But still, Line’s dominance is pretty secure at home, with about 41.5 million users in Japan. Stay tuned to see how it fares abroad this year.
This is part of our ‘Japanese internet in-depth’ series (RSS). Stay tuned for more features that aim to explain what makes the internet unique in Japan.
For more information on the growth of Line, please check out our interactive Line Timeline which chronicles its growth from its launch back in 2011 up until the present day.
chat apps 
Masaru Ikeda
Yukari Mitsuhashi
Rick Martin
