Registered User Number Exceeds 30 Million in 10 Months for LINE -- Free Calling and Messaging App

TOKYO, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NHN Japan Corporation (hereinafter referred to as NHN Japan) announced that the number of registered users for its free calling and free messaging app "LINE" (http://line.naver.jp/) exceeded a figure of 30 million as of 18 April, 10 months since the launch of its service. The number of registered users in Japan has exceeded 13 million and associated services have also been showing rapid growth.

-Graph to show registered user numbers
http://naverland.naver.jp/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/line_30millionDL.jpg 

LINE is a smartphone app which allows users to enjoy free calls and messages to one another, both nationally and internationally, regardless of which mobile network provider they are using. Since its launch on 23 June 2011, it has proven most popular with users in Japan as well as those in the Middle Eastern /South-East Asian regions, and is currently used in 231 countries worldwide. In just 9 months after its launch on 27 March, the number of users registered to LINE managed to exceed a figure of 25 million, with the user number in Japan also exceeding 10 million.

To further promote enjoyable communication between users, NHN Japan has introduced additional services to LINE. On 28 March, the official greeting card app, "LINE Card" was released (available free on iPhone and Android), followed by the official camera app, "LINE camera" on 12 April (available free on Android). LINE Card managed to achieve 1.5 million downloads in just 1 week since its launch, acquiring the number 1 spot in the free apps section of the App Store in 5 countries and regions such as Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand. In addition to this, the LINE camera has also managed to achieve a total of 1.1 million downloads in just 3 days since its launch even though it is currently only available on Androids. It has been ranked as the number 1 app in the camera category of Google Play in 15 countries and regions including Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong, and continues to show a rapid rate of growth.

As a result of these new features, the number of registered users has been increasing at a rate of over 1 million per week, and as of 18 April, 10 months after the launch of the service, the total number of registered users has exceeded 30 million worldwide and 13 million within Japan.

As one of the world's leading global messaging services, LINE aims to achieve the 100 million user mark during 2012, and as so, will continue to improve the user-friendliness as well as pursuing the expansion of its additional services.

About NHN Japan Corporation
NHN Japan is the local affiliate of Korea's premier Internet company, NHN Corporation. NHN Japan is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, with Akira Morikawa as CEO.