

Z Launcher - redox_
https://www.zlauncher.com

======
wasyl
First thoughts: \- sending data to Nokia for 'service improvement' isn't
surprising, though there's an option to opt-out which (apparently) makes the
app no more privacy-invading than any other launcher

\- it feels very limited, I can't seem to make a shortcut in the bottom row of
the icons (even though there's a gap).

\- 6 apps showing as recently used is not very much. I think I open my apps
from 2-3 screens faster than I draw a letter, and I use way more than 6 apps
regularly

\- The UI is confusing. I have two clocks, a gap in the bottom row of the
icons and an indicator that suggests I can swipe between screens. But I can
only swipe the clocks area, which is small (I actually had to try it couple of
times before I learned how to swipe them)

\- It doesn't seem to recognize polish diacritic characters, like 'Ł'

Overall I don't think the launcher will be very useful, for me at least. It's
innovative and certainly useful sometimes (when you want to call someone -
just start writing his name), but less friendly than Nova or even Google stock
launcher

(edit) I'm certainly going to give it a shot though

~~~
13
That privacy policy is brutal, and it's just for their analytics and enabled
unless you opt out in the settings. The application runs just fine without all
of this data being sent to them. You're giving them your bookmarks, call
history, contacts, favorites, gestures, app launch times, location, SMS
metadata, notifications and internet searches.

[https://www.zlauncher.com/privsupp.html](https://www.zlauncher.com/privsupp.html)

~~~
JohnTHaller
It's important to note that just because an app requests access to something
doesn't mean that something is being shared with the publisher. The app could
request access to favorites and contacts to be able to import them as icons
into the launch area, for example.

~~~
rip747
this is why android and other mobile os needs to have read/write permissions

~~~
cptskippy
I'm inclined to agree with you however there are as many pitfalls in making
permissions too granular as their are in leaving them too broad.

------
d0m
I tried it a few months ago and I thought I'd be a big fan.. but turned out it
was really annoying to have apps change location all the time time. It's like
if the navigation of a website keeps changing every hours, that gets
frustrating really fast.

Also, I know you can launch apps with a name, but I often don't really know
the name of the app (Such as new games I'm trying or something I'm only
recognizing with the location/icon). But even if I do remember the name, it
forces me to think about it instead of just being a muscle memory. I.e. If I
want to check mail, I just click bottom left of the screen, it's instant. But
otherwise, I need to think about the name of my email client (inbox) and draw
a I. It seems like nothing, but it gets annoying really fast. I would argue
that this feature is a very well done replacement of the "Search".. but to
launch something quickly, I'm not convinced.

~~~
k__
This seems like the starter UX error everyone makes.

Many people are like "well if I change the UI so it just shows what people
want, they gonna safe so much time!"

Problem with this is, static UIs are remembered easier and have a lower
cognitive demand over time. Even if the menu doesn't show "only what you need
at a given point in time" after a few tries you are faster in navigating the
cluttered static menu than the optimized dynamic one.

------
Osiris
I tried it out during the beta. I didn't like it. You have to draw the first
letter of the app that you want. It's really awkward.

I'm using Aviate from Yahoo right now, which has categories for apps. You have
"favorites" on the home screen, then a screen with categories, then another
screen with every app organized under the first letter. There's also a
location-aware popout, but I don't find that one very useful.

------
edent
It's... Interesting. It forces you to think about the names of apps which I
find offputting. I look for the colours and shapes of the icons - or remember
the location on my homescreen.

For example, I couldn't really remember the name of my PodCast app. I
scribbled P... then O... then D... Until finally my brain clicked and I
remembered it was "AntennaPod".

This will, I'm sure, be incredibly useful for people who don't like to
organise their phones and who also are great at remembering names.

~~~
0942v8653
I'm surprised it doesn't have fuzzy search. With Alfred
([http://alfredapp.com](http://alfredapp.com)) for example, I can type "run"
or "cr" and "CodeRunner" will show up. Fuzzy searching is essential for any
launcher.

------
bru
I get the following:

    
    
        <Error>
            <Code>AccessDenied</Code>
            <Message>Access Denied</Message>
            <RequestId>B0073107D8E5A45E</RequestId>
            <HostId>CWGhVGbn6PzNIg5auGU/hJcfGpgJDbvXF5FYiu73dKNH17sQmr+W2WBaLsDHA5YipCiJs9pYEDY=</HostId>
        </Error>

~~~
sebabytes
Access the index document directly:
[https://www.zlauncher.com/index.html](https://www.zlauncher.com/index.html)

Worked for me.

------
tonylemesmer
I'm not a massive fan of OS interfaces where stuff moves around without my
control. Muscle memory remembers where the icon for Chrome is and if it moves
then I have to look for it.

Also the list looks like it should scroll, because it has so few items on it,
but dragging upwards draws an 'l'.

I only use a few apps - email, phone, browser, settings and twitter client.
Camera is reached through the lock screen. Other infrequently used apps are
available through a separate icon, same as on this launcher. So for my uses
this should be a winner.

I'll give it a few days to learn my habits and see if it works for me.

~~~
tonylemesmer
So a week later, gave it a try, the main screen has too small a list for it to
be able to keep even my modest number of apps on. Always found myself
searching for something which would have easily fit on the screen. Also having
the redundant clock taking up a 1/3 of the screen was annoying. I've gone back
to Trebuchet.

------
skinofstars
I lived with this for a month. It took very little getting used to and was
pretty pleasant to use. Writing letters for launching works great.

However, what I missed most was discoverability. I don't use all my apps all
the time, so less frequently used ones dropped out of sight. And if you can't
remember the actualy name of it, you'll likely just lose it unless go hunting.

If you like to have a controlled subset of apps that are always near the
surface, then great.

If you like stumbling serendipity, not so good.

------
gotosleep
If you guys want an alternative, check out my app launcher:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iojess.con...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iojess.conjure)

I've been working on it off & on for 2ish years. It doesn't use gestures for
searching, but personally I prefer typing on a keyboard. It also learns what
you want to do based on time and day. One benefit of my approach: it isn't
trying to be a home screen replacement, so you can use it with any launcher
you wish.

~~~
harel
This looks interesting - is there an option to try a demo version?

------
OoTheNigerian
Can someone from NOKIA explain why this app is not available to me/my region?

This is getting old!

~~~
alokyadav15
Same here , Not Available in India.

------
JoseVigil
We have developed RKT Launcher [http://www.gesturekit.com/rkt-
launcher/](http://www.gesturekit.com/rkt-launcher/) with a similar concept.
Its based on gestureKit SDK
[http://www.gesturekit.com/](http://www.gesturekit.com/) a cross platform
gesture recognition tool.

You can find it on the PLAY store here
[http://bit.ly/1okJIfc](http://bit.ly/1okJIfc) and you have the souce code
here [https://github.com/RoamTouch/app-rktlauncher-
android](https://github.com/RoamTouch/app-rktlauncher-android)

2015 is the year of the smartwatch technology and we are going to be there.

------
whizzkid
Photographic memory is easier and people are lean to it since you just want to
do something with the app and do not want to do something else in between like
drawing a letter.

I know that Youtube is on the third screen on my phone, and I can just think
about what i am about to search in youtube while my fingers are automatically
swiping through. I do not use search button on the phone because it requires
my focus to type.

With this one, you need to focus on drawing some letter. which is little bit
harder than just remembering where the app is.

Honestly, I could not expect this weak approach from Nokia. They always made
me glad with their products. Well, surprise surprise!

------
andmarios
I don't like it. It seems like they missed what makes Android so great.

For example my alarm clock is also my time widget. Click time widget -> open
alarm clock. With ZLauncher my alarm clock is an icon named timely and stays
on my screen for a good portion of the day.

There isn't any place for widgets nor any customization option which makes my
smartphone feel like less than a series 40 feature phone.

Another UX problem is that I press the menu button on my phone and it does
nothing. How can such behaviour pass through Nokia's design team?

------
skibz
'Unavailable in your country' :(

(I'm in South Africa)

------
buro9
This looks to be somewhere between Dolphin gestures and the old Palm Graffiti
writing.

As an input method it could be great as I used to be able to scribble in
Graffiti faster than I can type today on a touch keyboard.

As a search method for an app, I imagine it would be a little clumsy. Most of
the performance from the input is gained _after_ the first few letters have
been drawn, once your hands are comfortably holding the device and accurately
making the shapes in the input area.

------
arjo129
Not possible to install in my country: wonder whether it was a legal issue or
something else that prevented them from allowing an international audience.

------
steventhedev
Looks like a really cool idea, especially since the recommendation engine can
take into account more than simply time statistics (which their front page
doesn't convey well). The best part of this is that it does all the
recommendations on device (at least according to their privacy page).

If they add a travel/email card system, I'd switch over from the Google Now
home/launcher.

~~~
sirkneeland
Hi Steventhedev, Z Launcher PM here. What do you mean by travel/email card
system?

~~~
steventhedev
Similar to google now cards. Showing travel times based on appointments,
flights, etc. Also, exchange rate if I'm abroad, and gate changes/notices.

Some of those are less feasible if you have to keep it on-device, but perhaps
Google Now offers an API?

------
stuaxo
So this is the partvof nokia that doesnt belong to ms?

~~~
Shofo
Yeah, this team is from Nokia Corporation the part Microsoft did not buy
(essentially business dev, R&D, some creative and remnants of the N9 (Meego)
team that did not leave for Jolla among others). So totally separate from
Microsoft.

~~~
walterbell
Good to know that some stayed. Hopefully Jolla will rejoin the mothership in
2016 :)

~~~
Shofo
Yeah that would be awesome. I had an N9 and loved it. Incredible device in
terms of design and OS. It was an absolute shame and a disaster that it fell
to the way side for Windows Phone.

Nokia had made a massive mistake by neglecting Symbian for half a decade, but
I think going with Windows Phone was an even bigger mistake. Meego really
could have been huge if they just stuck with it.

------
AdamGibbins
Hmm, this looks awesome, but appears its not supported on my Nexus 5? Sigh.
"This app is incompatible with your device."

~~~
cptskippy
Which is peculiar given that the website's imagery is demoing the launcher on
a Nexus 5.

------
gus_massa
This redirects me to

[https://www.zlauncher.com/es/?redirect=true](https://www.zlauncher.com/es/?redirect=true)

but then I get a 403 error (forbidden).

Probably because I live in Argentina and/or my preferred language in the
browser is ES-AR,ES, EN

------
NicoJuicy
I use Gesture Search (from Google) all the time for calling contacts, perhaps
this could be usefull also.

------
kcbanner
This says it is incompatible with all my devices, which include an HTC One,
Nexus 4, and Nexus S.

~~~
namzo
Looks like it's restricted by Location (Probably US only).

------
Shofo
I've been using it since pre-beta. Fantastic launcher and a joy to use, so
intuitive. Delighted to see Nokia's R&D still going strong and innovating.
Most of the greatest mobile telecommunication innovations came from those
guys.

~~~
sirkneeland
John from Nokia here. We are thrilled that you like it. Great things to come
:)

------
camillomiller
Seriously: is the "Z" because of Zorro? In that case, I think it's cool as
hell. Nice marketing job.

On the "not so nice" side: why are the smartphone illustrations based on the
iPhone shape?

------
harel
So, Nokia is doing an Android launcher? I thought Microsoft were going to
scrap the Nokia brand, making Nokia a windows phone company, and now its still
Nokia and doing Android? Am I missing something?

~~~
wmt
Microsoft did not buy Nokia, just its mobile division, and the exclusive right
to use the Nokia brand to sell mobile phones for some time. This is the actual
Nokia corporation licensing its brand for a Foxconn tablet.

~~~
harel
Yep. a bit more digging and I found out they do this:
[http://n1.nokia.com/](http://n1.nokia.com/) but without a 3g card, at least
until their contract with MS runs out.

------
dragos2
This sounds kind of similar to what Cover was doing (they got acquired by
Twitter). Hopefully Nokia has more resources to turn this into something that
actually works.

------
soapdog
damn, this launcher is not available in my country (Brazil). I have no idea
why people opt not to release on multiple countries...

------
bigp3t3
I can't for the life of me imagine why they won't support rooted phones. And I
only rooted mine last week.

~~~
rasmuskl
Seems to run fine on my rooted HTC One with CyanogenMod.

~~~
harkdorse
Works fine on my Oneplus one.

------
neals
A bit offtopic, but how do they do the big video/animation in the background
of the websiteheader?

~~~
foomoo
Works well for me, FF33 on OS X.

They simply have a carousel in which they embed <video> elements, here's a
direct link to one of the files:
[https://www.zlauncher.com/video/Afternoon_H1.mp4](https://www.zlauncher.com/video/Afternoon_H1.mp4)

------
donatj
Not compatible with my Nexus 4 but it is with my ancient Galaxy Nexus? What
gives?

~~~
tonylemesmer
works on my Nexus 4 (CM11)

~~~
donatj
Upgraded to Lollipop yet?

~~~
tonylemesmer
No, I'm having some issues with cm11 and battery drain so thinking of going
back to 4.4.2 at the moment. Might try a sneaky install of lollipop just to
see. I'm a nogapps user so new android releases tend not to appeal to me :)

------
Keloran
Why they using an iPhone to represent the Morning/Evening for an Android app ?

~~~
sirkneeland
Hi, PM for Z Launcher here. That's just a generic smartphone image. Any
similarities to smartphones living or dead is purely coincidental!

------
dserodio
"Unavailable in your country" (Brazil)

------
snird
The concept looks a lot like Yahoo! aviate launcher.

~~~
taude
It doesn't look or behave anything like Aviate, except that it provides a way
to launch apps, hence why it's called a Launcher.

With Aviate, you swipe to expose a list of grouped apps, then swipe again to
expose a list of all the apps alphabetically. This looks like you draw a
letter to filter to some apps that start with that letter. And that there's a
way to have six apps pinned (somehow) to the main page.

------
wehadfun
less tapping more apping

------
shahocean
not available in India!

------
noelwelsh
What burning issue does this solve? I thought there was research showing most
people use only a few core apps, so I don't see that many people will have a
need for this. I certainly don't.

~~~
noelwelsh
Look, if you're gonna down vote at least give reasons. I fail to see how "what
is the problem this is solving" (the basic question every entrepreneur asks)
is not a legitimate question about this, especially given the fanfare it has
in the tech. press.

