New Delhi [India]: Technology from India Bobble will soon go live inside Facemoji, Japan’s number one keyboard. Facemoji users in the US will soon get unlimited content with their faces and customizable text. Facemoji will roll out Bobble’s functionalities by integrating Bobble’s SDK on Android and iOS.
Facemoji is a free keyboard for iOS and Android, and is a product of Baidu, the leading internet search giant from China. Facemoji was first launched in Japan in 2008, and has since garnered over 20 million downloads to become the number one third party keyboard app in Japan.
It was featured on the Apple App Store’s ‘Best of 2015′ list in Japan, and has consistently ranked among the country’s top 5 tool apps on both iOS and Android.
Bobble’s USP is real-time personalization of content- with users’ own faces and relevant text. Bobble’s journey started as a selfie-based sticker app. With just one selfie, users get unlimited stickers with their faces. A user can send Bobble’s content while chatting on WhatsApp, Facebook, WeChat, etc. There is no need to switch between the chat app and Bobble.
In real time, Bobble’s technology adjusts the expression on every face to match the emotion of the sticker. Also, the face tone of each head is adjusted to match with sticker body and theme.
All text on stickers is customizable by users in any language.
Personalized content is recommended to users based on the tone and tenor of the input text, through a self-learning algorithm. All content on Bobble is free of cost. Users can download as much content as they wish from the ‘Bobble Store’.
“We are planning to integrate Bobble’s personal self-expression function in our Facemoji Keyboard, and we believe it will become a highlight feature of our Keyboard,” said Lijuan Xiao at Baidu.
“Visual communication on mobile has seen exponential rise in popularity. Our technology is unique in its ability to facilitate real-time personalization of content. No other product in the world has such tech. Our technology is truly global- input text for our content can be in language. Needless to say, Baidu is a giant. This agreement is an ambitious bet. We’re confident of adding value to Facemoji, and will extend all support to them,” added Co-founder Bobble, Mohd. Wassem.
Earlier this month, Bobble integrated with Apple to release their iMessage app, becoming the only Indian app to be featured in the iMessage App Store.
This integration with Facemoji is yet another illustration that our tech can be distributed widely. We hope to leverage more such partnerships with leading players in Messaging, Live Streaming, Gaming, Social and Keyboards. Our SDK can be integrated well with all such apps.
In a tightened fundraising environment, we are poised to scale independently. It helps that our product is not labour intensive anyway. Our aspiration is to build a truly global consumer focused internet-product from India, and challenge the existing paradigm for mobile conversations.
We have the youngest user base- younger than even Snapchat. 90 percent of our users are 25 years or younger. Our engagement and growth metrics are comparable to the best globally. Our own keyboard enjoys cult-like following among school and college students in India, and holds the same potential globally. 85 percent of our users are organic and 65 percent users use Bobble more than five times in the first week.
Our engagement is comparable to the top 150 Android apps globally.
We don’t wish to rest on our laurels. Within the next quarter, we will roll out more such features for our target audience of 13-29 years. Our near-term product roadmap includes personalised GIFs and personalised emojis with your face. (ANI)