Nokia Z Launcher for Android 4.1 and Higher Released on Google Play

Nokia on Tuesday, along with the announcement of the "first Nokia-branded Android tablet" dubbed the Nokia N1, has also released the "predictive Nokia Z Launcher" as a beta app on Google Play. Previously, the company had released the limited pre-beta version of the Z Launcher app via the Z Launcher website in June.

The Nokia Z Launcher also ships with Nokia N1 Android tablet as custom UI on top of Android 5.0 Lollipop. For other devices running Android versions ranging from Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to Android 4.4 KitKat can download the Nokia Z Launcher Beta app from Google Play (notably, the app is not available on Google Play India yet).

The company says that, "Throughout the day, Nokia Z Launcher is learning how you use your phone and promoting your favourite apps so you can get to them faster." It adds that over time, the "Z Launcher learns what applications are in use, and predicts and highlights the applications consumers are expected to want based on time of day and location."

Just like the pre-beta version of the app, users can 'Scribble' the first letter of the search on home screen and it finds the related app, contact or task. Nokia says that with the Adapt feature, the launcher over time "learns to promote the right stuff at the right time."

On Monday, the Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia unveiled the N1 tablet with Android 5.0 Lollipop. It features a 7.9-inch (2048x1536 pixel) IPS LED-backlit display protected by Gorilla Glass 3, and is powered by a 64-bit 2.3GHz Intel Atom Z3580 processor (4 cores, 4 threads) coupled with a PowerVR G6430 GPU and 2GB of LPDDR3 (800MHz) RAM. It sports 32GB of inbuilt storage (non-expandable).

Nokia's N1 tablet features an 8-megapixel rear autofocus camera with 1080p video recording, and a 5-megapixel fixed focus camera. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/n/ac with MIMO, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB with reversible Type-C connector, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The N1 tablet from Nokia weighs in at 318 grams, and measures 200.7x138.6x6.9mm. Also onboard are 0.5W stereo speakers, and a 5300mAh battery. For sensors, it sports a 6-axis gyroscope and an accelerometer.