LINE Partners With Nokia Accelerating Global Expansion / Cnet Japan

NHN Japan announced strategic alliance with Nokia aiming to expand global development of free voice and messaging app, LINE. The company provides LINE app on Asha, low priced smartphone of Nokia.

Planning to release on Nokia Store within March, Asha version of LINE has one to one talk, group talk, and stickers (basic four types, Moon, Cony, Brown, and James). Other features including voice call will be added later.

NHN Japan hopes to acquire users in emerging markets which Asha targets such as South Ease Asia, Central and South America, Middle East, and Africa. Also, by marketing LINE at Nokia Store or other shops in each country, it expects to increase awareness of LINE in these countries.

Cnet Japan 2/26/2013 [jp]

memo

• Nokia sold 9.3 million Asha devices in Q4 2012, which is more than double of its Lumia, 4.4 million unites. So, it would be a quite large market that LINE does not want to lose. Even though LINE is becoming popular in some Asian and Spanish speaking countries, entering into matured markets with strong existence of similar apps like US, Western Europe, or China may be difficult. In order to continue the growth speed, LINE should more focus on emerging markets.