Nokia Z launcher: Simplifying search on Android

Nokia has just released their first ever Android launcher called Z launcher. Confused? Well, this is the Nokia Technologies arm of the company which is separate from the handset division. The launcher is currently in alpha stages and is available for beta testing for a limited time only. If you like to get your hands on it then you can do so by punching in this URL in your phone’s browser and downloading the app (go.zlauncher.com). Rmember to have “Unknown sources” checked in order to install the APK.

The Z launcher is fairly simple to use and intuitive as it learns your usage patterns and presents the most frequently used apps on the home screen. There’s only one home screen with fixed set of four app at the bottom (call, Chrome, Camera and Hangouts) while the list above dynamically changes throughout the day based on the apps you use. We have a feeling the bottom row might also change over extended use but we’ll know for sure after using it for a couple of days.

There’s an app drawer as well in case you wish to scroll through all your apps. Apart from this, the home screen tells you the time and calendar notifications. These aren’t customisable yet but we’re guessing more functionality will be added as the app development progresses.

Z launcher even recognises your most frequently contacted contacts and displays them as well. In addition, you can quickly search an app by typing the first couple of letters. This works quite smoothly and for an app in alpha stages, seems pretty stable as well.

Z launcher is stated to work on the Samsung Galaxy S3, 4 and 5 and the Nexus 5. You need Android 4.1 or higher for it to work. We tried this on the Moto X and it works just fine. Go ahead, give it a shot and let us know what you think of it.