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Kakao teams with Evernote for chat-memo service

By Yoon Min-sik

Kakao, the operator of the country’s biggest mobile messenger Kakao Talk, announced Wednesday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Evernote for a service that will allow users to use the U.S.-based tech firm’s memo app while chatting.

Under the agreement, Kakao Talk users will be able to not only make memos while using the app, but also to save the contents of their chats and share them with others. The Evernote app allows the users to record text or voice and send them online.

The move by Kakao Talk is aimed at expanding its service coverage outside of Korea.

Kakao recently launched TV ads starring popular K-pop group Big Bang in Indonesia and Vietnam to promote its smartphone app. In Japan, the messenger app recorded over 10 million downloads in March, according to Kakao’s subsidiary.

Joining hands with Evernote, which has 50 million users worldwide, is expected to help the Korean company break into the global market.

“The partnership (with Evernote) will elevate the status of Kakao Talk as a global mobile platform,” said Kakao’s CEO Lee Sir-goo. Lee said he expects an Evernote service optimized for Kakao Talk to be available in two or three months.

Evernote CEO Phil Libin said he expected the partnership to bring synergistic effects for both firms. The U.S. firm hopes to expand its influence in Korea through its alliance with Kakao, whose messenger service is used by about 90 percent of smartphone owners here.

(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)