KaKao

[Press Release - Korea]

 

Kakao Introduces KakaoHome 

“Receive your latest Kakao Feeds in one place!”

 

· Kakao introduces ‘KakaoHome’ to heighten convenience for Kakao users

· ‘Notifications’ displays KakaoTalk messages, KakaoStory notices and more in a glance
· ‘Quick reply’ and ‘Snooze’ widget adds convenience for Kakao users,

· More than 110 free themes help users personalize their mobile home screen

 

[Seoul, Korea – May 15, 2013] Kakao, the provider of KakaoTalk, announced the launch of ‘KakaoHome,’ a launcher for Android devices. KakaoHome is designed to provide Kakao users with added convenience through a ‘notification’ feature, which shows new messages and notices from Kakao services. At the same time, the launcher remains faithful to the core functionalities of conventional android launchers, allowing users to decorate, manage, and customize their smartphones.

 

 

One of the most notable features of KakaoHome is the ‘notifications’ page. The ‘notifications’ page, which can be pulled out from the left side of the first page of the home screen, displays new KakaoTalk messages, KakaoStory notifications, birthday alerts, KakaoGame news and daily weather updates, all at once. The page also provides users with the option to respond to messages and open up specific chat rooms directly from the home screen, without having to launch the actual app.  

 

 

The Kakao ‘snooze’ widget in KakaoHome is also a very attractive feature for Kakao users. The widget allows users to temporarily pause both sound and vibration notifications from Kakao services for a designated length of time. The snooze can be set for as long as eight hours with a single swipe along the wheel. This feature is especially useful when users are in a movie, in class or in meetings. In addition, users using KakaoHome can now see the exact number of new messages they have in KakaoTalk, instead of the existing ‘N’(new) badge.

 

 

KakaoHome launcher still remains faithful to smartphone decoration and management functions that other launchers had previously provided. Users can choose from more than 110 free themes in the market to customize their smartphone wallpaper, icons, widgets, dock menu and page slide effect. If a user finds that the 110 themes are not enough to quench his or her creative needs, he or she can even develop a theme on his or her own with the API tool provided by Kakao. Managing applications is also made easier with KakaoHome. Users can organize applications in alphabetical order, order of download, or customize the order to the users needs. They can also easily hide applications, and can even search for applications by name.

 

 

The intuitive and convenient design of KakaoHome will enable even those who have never used a launcher before to use the application without difficulty. To facilitate the transition from users previous home screen settings, Kakao provides users with an option to ‘Load from other Home,’ which imports application and widgets settings from the previous home screen.

 

 

Spokesperson from Kakao said, “KakaoHome aims to enable faster and more intuitive mobile communication for our users, in addition to providing a customized home screen experience,” and added, “Through KakaoHome, we will introduce users to a more convenient and upgraded mobile environment.”

 

 

 

KakaoHome is available in Google Play and is compatible for devices running Android 4.0 or higher.