Camp Mobile

Camp Mobile was a Seoul-based mobile application development company established by NAVER Corporation in February 2013. It was created when NAVER separated the team behind BAND, a group-oriented social networking service, into a more agile unit focused on mobile products and international expansion. Rather than operating as a conventional consumer brand with a single flagship product, Camp Mobile served as a development and operating house for a portfolio of mobile services covering social networking, online communities, caller identification, camera effects, smartphone customization, and smartwatch software. The company’s best-known service was BAND. Originally developed inside NAVER and launched in August 2012, BAND enabled groups to communicate through shared spaces, posts, calendars, photos, and other collaborative features. It became particularly popular in South Korea and had accumulated more than 50 million global downloads by September 2015. Camp Mobile used the service as a foundation for its independent identity and as an example of NAVER’s strategy of incubating specialized mobile businesses outside its main portal operations. Camp Mobile expanded its portfolio in 2013 and 2014 with LINE Launcher and LINE Deco. These applications brought smartphone personalization features such as alternative home-screen interfaces, icons, wallpapers, and widgets to Android and iOS users. In December 2013, the company acquired Gogolook, a Taiwanese startup developing Whoscall. The acquisition added a caller-identification and spam-filtering service whose database was supported in part by user reports. Whoscall subsequently reached 30 million downloads by September 2015 and gave Camp Mobile a stronger presence in Asian mobile markets. The company continued to experiment with emerging mobile formats. WatchMaster, launched in May 2015, provided watch-face designs for Android Wear devices and was selected as a featured application on Google Play. SNOW, launched in September 2015, combined camera functions with facial recognition, filters, animated stickers, and other effects. It was ranked first in the camera category of the App Store in South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines according to the company’s contemporary product description. Camp Mobile also operated Moot, a gaming community platform launched in December 2017 that helped players find groups, browse gaming news, and access memes and guides. Camp Mobile operated internationally through branch offices in the United States, Taiwan, and India. Its portfolio reflected NAVER’s effort to build mobile services capable of traveling beyond the Korean market, while also allowing individual products to develop distinct user communities and monetization models. The company’s products were not all retained permanently under the Camp Mobile name; some were associated with the broader NAVER or LINE ecosystem, and the portfolio changed as the parent company reassessed its mobile strategy. In November 2017, NAVER announced that Camp Mobile would be merged back into the parent company in February 2018. The merger ended Camp Mobile as a separately organized NAVER subsidiary, although services developed or operated under its management continued within NAVER-related businesses. Camp Mobile is therefore best understood as a former NAVER mobile-product incubation and operating company rather than an active standalone consumer brand.

Camp Mobile originated within NAVER’s mobile-product organization. Its principal founding asset was BAND, a group social networking service initially developed inside NAVER and released in August 2012. In February 2013, NAVER spun the business out into Camp Mobile, giving it a separate structure intended to move more quickly and concentrate on mobile applications for overseas users. The new company quickly broadened its portfolio. In March 2013 it launched LINE Launcher, an Android home-screen application focused on smartphone customization. In December of the same year, Camp Mobile acquired Gogolook, a Taiwanese mobile startup whose principal product was Whoscall, a caller-identification and spam-filtering service. The acquisition expanded Camp Mobile’s geographic reach and added a product based on a community-supported database of telephone numbers and user reports. In March 2014, Camp Mobile introduced LINE Deco, an application for decorating and personalizing Android and iOS devices with icons, wallpapers, and widgets. The company then moved into wearable software with WatchMaster, launched in May 2015 as a platform for Android Wear watch-face designs. WatchMaster was later selected as a featured application on Google Play. In September 2015, Camp Mobile launched SNOW, a camera application built around facial recognition, filters, animated stickers, and other real-time effects. SNOW achieved strong rankings in several Asian App Store markets and became one of the most visible products associated with the company. BAND remained the portfolio’s central social product and was reported to have exceeded 50 million global downloads by September 2015. Whoscall had reached 30 million downloads during the same period, while LINE Launcher and LINE Deco also recorded substantial download totals. These services illustrated Camp Mobile’s broad product strategy: some offerings were community or communication networks, while others addressed personalization, mobile safety, entertainment, or device accessories. Camp Mobile later added Moot, a gaming community platform launched in December 2017. Moot was designed to streamline the process of finding other players and to provide gaming news, memes, guides, and related community content. The company maintained branch operations in the United States, Taiwan, and India, supporting its stated objective of developing mobile services for international markets. By late 2017, NAVER decided that Camp Mobile’s separate structure was no longer necessary. In November 2017, it announced plans to merge the company back into NAVER in February 2018. The transaction concluded Camp Mobile’s existence as an independent NAVER subsidiary. Its applications and related capabilities were subsequently associated with NAVER and its wider service ecosystem, but the Camp Mobile corporate brand itself became defunct.

• 2018

  Camp Mobile merges into NAVER

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  The planned merger ended Camp Mobile’s status as a separately organized subsidiary.

• 2017

  Moot launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Moot launched as a gaming community platform for player discovery, gaming content, guides, and discussion.

• 2017

  NAVER announces reintegration

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  NAVER announced that Camp Mobile would be merged back into the parent company in February 2018.

• 2015

  WatchMaster launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Camp Mobile introduced WatchMaster, a watch-face design platform for Android Wear.

• 2015

  SNOW launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Camp Mobile launched SNOW, a camera application featuring facial recognition, filters, and animated stickers.

• 2014

  LINE Deco launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  The company launched LINE Deco, a mobile personalization application for icons, wallpapers, and widgets.

• 2013

  Camp Mobile is spun off from NAVER

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  NAVER established Camp Mobile as a separate mobile application company focused on agile product development and international expansion.

• 2013

  LINE Launcher launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Camp Mobile released LINE Launcher, an Android launcher designed around phone customization.

• 2013

  Gogolook acquisition

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  Camp Mobile acquired Taiwanese startup Gogolook, the developer of Whoscall.

• 2012

  BAND launches

  [1]Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org

  BAND, the group social networking service that later became the foundation of Camp Mobile, was launched by NAVER.

A NAVER-backed mobile application studio and operating company focused on rapidly developing social, communication, personalization, safety, camera, gaming, and wearable-device services for Korean and international users.

• Group social networking · 2012

  BAND

  BAND is a group communication and social networking service built around private or semi-private communities. Users can organize groups and share posts, photos, calendars, announcements, and other information. Originally developed within NAVER and launched in August 2012, it became Camp Mobile’s central product and was especially popular in South Korea. It had surpassed 50 million global downloads by September 2015.

• Android launcher and personalization · 2013

  LINE Launcher

  LINE Launcher was an Android home-screen replacement focused on phone customization. It allowed users to modify the visual and functional presentation of their devices and connected the product to the LINE design ecosystem. Camp Mobile launched it in March 2013, and its downloads had reached 20 million by August 2015 according to contemporary company material.

• Caller identification and spam filtering

  Whoscall

  Whoscall identifies incoming callers and helps users filter suspected spam or unwanted calls. Its information was supported by a database that incorporated community reports, allowing users to contribute knowledge about telephone numbers. Camp Mobile obtained the service through its December 2013 acquisition of Gogolook, a Taiwanese startup. Whoscall had reached 30 million downloads by September 2015.

• Mobile personalization · 2014

  LINE Deco

  LINE Deco was a phone-customization application for Android and iOS. It offered decorative icons, wallpapers, widgets, and related visual assets intended to let users personalize their devices. Launched in March 2014, it surpassed 30 million downloads by October 2015 according to the cited product material.

• Smartwatch application · 2015

  WatchMaster

  WatchMaster was a platform for Android Wear watch-face designs. It extended Camp Mobile’s product development beyond phones into wearable-device software and provided users with alternative visual designs for compatible smartwatches. It launched in May 2015 and was selected as a featured application on Google Play.

• Camera and augmented-reality effects · 2015

  SNOW

  SNOW is a camera application centered on real-time facial recognition, filters, animated stickers, and other visual effects. It was launched by Camp Mobile in September 2015 and achieved leading camera-category rankings in South Korea, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The product became one of the company’s most prominent experiments in social camera and interactive-image software.

• Gaming community · 2017

  Moot

  Moot was a community platform for video-game players. Launched in December 2017, it aimed to simplify the process of finding other players and offered gaming news, memes, guides, and discussion content. It was one of Camp Mobile’s last publicly documented product launches before the company was merged back into NAVER.

• 2017

  Decision to merge Camp Mobile back into NAVERStrategy

  Background

  After several years of operating a separate mobile-app subsidiary, NAVER announced a change in organizational structure.

  Action taken

  NAVER announced in November 2017 that Camp Mobile would be merged back into NAVER in February 2018.

  Aftermath

  Camp Mobile ceased to operate as a separate NAVER subsidiary, while its services and capabilities continued under the broader NAVER organization.

  Source

• 2013

  Spin-off from NAVER to create a dedicated mobile-app unitStrategy

  Background

  NAVER sought a more agile organization dedicated to mobile applications and international opportunities, using BAND as the initial product foundation.

  Action taken

  NAVER established Camp Mobile as a separate subsidiary in February 2013.

  Aftermath

  Camp Mobile expanded into social networking, personalization, caller identification, camera software, gaming communities, and wearable applications.

  Source

• 2013

  Acquisition of GogolookM&A

  Background

  Camp Mobile sought to expand its mobile-service portfolio and international presence through the acquisition of a Taiwanese startup.

  Action taken

  Camp Mobile acquired Gogolook, developer of the Whoscall caller-identification service.

  Aftermath

  Whoscall became part of Camp Mobile’s international application portfolio and reached 30 million downloads by September 2015.

  Source

1. 1Camp Mobileen.wikipedia.org