Nokia on Thursday unveiled the Z Launcher, its first ever Android launcher app that will showcase apps and contacts that have been used the most throughout the day.
The app has been launched by Nokia’s Technologies arm separate from the handset division currently owned by Microsoft.
“We’re releasing the first version of Z Launcher with a limited number of downloads initially, to see how it works and learn from your feedback. In the next few months we’ll provide updates on new versions, features and availability”, said Brook Eaton, lead product manager of the Nokia technologies group, in a blog post while announcing the app.
“The more you use it, the better it gets at predicting your every whenever/wherever/whatever. This way your smartphone becomes more than a constantly shuffling myriad of stuff – it’s truly your device.”
The Z Launcher comes with “Scribble,” a unique feature that is capable of searching anything on the phone “in as little as one second.” Using Scribble, users will just need to draw the first letter of the search and it finds the related app, contact or task.
Once installed the app will show time, date and one upcoming calendar event at the top of the home screen with fixed set of four app at the bottom (call, Chrome, Camera and Hangouts) and a dynamic list of most frequently used apps, contacts and websites.
Compatible with smartphones running Android 4.1 or higher, the Z launcher is not optimised for Android tablets. The app is currently being tested on Google Nexus 5, Samsung Galaxy S III, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy S5.
For those willing to give Z Launcher a try will need to need to sign up for the “limited pre-beta release” on the Z Launcher website and download it from there.
