When Nokia came out with an official Android launcher it shook some segments of the market, making plenty out there envision the glorious return of Nokia to competitive smartphone markets. In a way those folks were right, as the Nokia N1 tablet was launched not too long ago in China and Taiwan . It’s effectively an Asia-only product for the time being though and that makes the launch of device and the Z Launcher with it a bit difficult to swallow unless you live in these regions of the world. Nokia has made the Z Launcher available on the Google Play Store worldwide though, and it’s available for both phones and tablets too, so even if you can’t get your hands on a Nokia N1 you can at least try the launcher built for Nokia in the meantime.
What exactly does the Z Launcher bring to the table? Nokia describes its launcher as simple, elegant and easy to use, and as such Nokia shied away from using more complex Android staples such as widgets. Now Nokia is saying it has figured out a path for users to be able to use the widgets they love, all without compromising their vision for a launcher with the motto “less is more.” Those who have used the Nokia Z Launcher before know how it works: a main screen with commonly used apps is right in front, and drawing any letter with your finger on the screen filters apps by the letter or number drawn. This works for more than just English too as there’s official Pinyin support.
Instead of adding tons of pages of information as other launchers do, Nokia has added a single additional homescreen to the left that can be filled with widgets. Nokia doesn’t want to have too many pages of information as they say that eliminates the purpose of using widgets in the first place, which are designed to present glanceable information with quick actions. This now brings the number of total screens on the Z Launcher to three, still keeping it far more simple than most launchers try to. Nokia’s Z Launcher is a different breed of launcher which fits more along the lines of Yahoo Aviate, and offers a bit of customization too. If you’re interested in checking it out for yourself head to the Google Play Store link below.