Free Voice Call/Messenger Application 'LINE' Reaches 15 Million Downloads in Total

TOKYO, January 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- Enjoying Continued Growth, Winning No.1 in Free Apps Category on App Store in Arab Nations -

NHN Japan Corporation (NHN Japan) announced that the total downloads of its free voice call/messenger smartphone application 'LINE' reached 15 million on January 27, 2012, in 7 months after its release.

Changes in number of total downloads (iPhone/Android total)
http://naverland.naver.jp/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/1500mdl.jpg

LINE is a smartphone application that enables its users to enjoy free voice calls and messaging, regardless of country or carrier. Since its launch on June 23, 2011, it has attracted users from approximately 200 countries around the world, particularly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, not limited in Japan, reaching 10 million total downloads on December 25, 2011, 6 months after its release.

As LINE has enjoyed a great number of users in the Middle East region since its release, the number of users continues to increase steadily entering into 2012, as LINE won the top slot in the Free Apps category on the App Store in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar and Israel. It was also placed highly in the free Social Networking Apps category on the App Store in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Oman.

In addition, as a new trend, LINE ranked No.1 in the Free Apps category on the App Store in Switzerland, witnessing a sharp increase of users in other European countries as well such as Austria and Germany.

As a result, LINE achieved 15 million downloads in 7 months after its release, and 1 month after reaching 10 million downloads.

We also plan to release a PC client version and a tablet PC version of LINE in addition to improving the quality of the popular voice call function, aiming to expand our service to more users.

About NHN Japan Corporation  http://www.nhncorp.jp/
NHN Japan is the Japanese arm of Korea's premier Internet company NHN Corporation, operating the world's No.4 search portal 'NAVER.com' and Korea's  No.1 online game portal 'Hangame'.
NHN Japan is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, and its CEO is Akira Morikawa.
NHN Japan offers a variety of Internet-based services such as games, search and portal, media, and matching, centering on its core services 'LINE', a smartphone application that topped 15 million total downloads, a portal site 'Livedoor', and an online game portal 'Hangame'.
The total downloads of its smartphone applications have topped 20 million. The unique user count of its PC services has reached 43 million*, ranking it No.4 in Japan.

*Source: comScore, Inc., as of October 2011