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| Developer(s) | Tencent Holdings |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
–iOS 4.3.3.6 [edit] (January 5, 2013[1]) |
| Operating system | iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian, BlackBerry OS |
| Available in | English, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Polish, Italian, Russian, Hindi, Turkish |
| Type | Instant Messaging Client |
| Licence | Proprietary |
| Website | www.wechatapp.com/en/ weixin.qq.com |
WeChat (Chinese: 微信; pinyin: Wēixìn; literally "micro message") is a mobile phone text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent in China.[6] Clients are available for Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, and Symbian platforms. Languages supported include English, traditional/simplified Chinese, Indonesian, Portuguese, Thai, Vietnamese, and Russian. WeChat is supported on Wi-Fi, 3G, and 4G data networks.
WeChat provides multimedia communication flexibility and convenience with text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, photo/video sharing, location sharing, and contact information exchange. WeChat also supports social networking via shared streaming content feeds and location-based social plug-ins ('Shake', 'Look Around', and 'Drift Bottle') to chat with and befriend local and international WeChat users. Photos can be taken and embellished with artistic filters, captioned and put into a personal photo journal, and distributed to friends. User data is protected via on-demand contact list backup and retrieval to/from a cloud-based service. With the above features, WeChat provides a complete, robust, and secure social networking platform that emphasizes user privacy and fast response performance.
Registration is done via Facebook Connect, mobile phone SMS/VM, or Tencent QQ. The application was initially launched as Weixin in China in January 2011, with international language support in October 2011, and re-branded as WeChat in April 2012. It is being promoted in India via gaming site Ibibo, in which Tencent holds a stake.[7]
As of March 2012, WeChat has more than 200 million users according to Tencent CEO Ma Huateng.[8]
The app is available in the App Store for iTunes, Google Play Store for Android and Marketplace for Windows Phone.
Ownership of the WeChat brand is currently the subject of a dispute between Hong Kong based Admart.Asia founder Wayan Chan who has used the WeChat brand on both the www.Admart.Asia and WeChat.Asia websites.
[edit] Similar software
- Facebook Messenger
- LINE
- Zalo
- Palringo
- ChatON
- TalkBox Voice Messenger
- KakaoTalk
- IM+
- eBuddy XMS
- Google Talk (bundled with Android)
- Kik Messenger
- BlackBerry Messenger (bundled with Blackberry)
- iMessage (bundled with iOS)
- Trillian
- Meebo
[edit] References
- ^ Tencent Inc. (January 5, 2012). "WeChat". App Store. Apple. http://itunes.apple.com/app/id414478124?mt=8&ls=1. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Tencent Inc. (January 7, 2012). "WeChat". Google Play. Google. http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tencent.mm. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Tencent Inc. (January 8, 2012). "WeChat". Windows Phone Marketplace. Microsoft. http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/wechat/23e1505b-9383-4ed4-9195-da23a3442820. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ a b Tencent Inc. (December 28, 2012). "WeChat". Ovi Store. Nokia. http://store.ovi.com/content/296097?clickSource=search&pos=1. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ Tencent Inc. (December 27, 2012). "WeChat". BlackBerry App World. Research In Motion. http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/18536566/. Retrieved January 10, 2012.
- ^ "Weixin (微信) – Tencent’s Bringing the Mobile IM Revolution to the Mainstream". TechRice. September 21, 2011. http://techrice.com/2011/09/21/weixin-%E5%BE%AE%E4%BF%A1-tencents-bringing-the-mobile-im-revolution-to-the-mainstream/. Retrieved April 20, 2012.
- ^ Tencent’s Group Messaging App WeChat Talks Its Way Into India, Tech in Asia
- ^ [1], BBC News, 31 May 2012
[edit] External links
- Official Weixin website
- Official WeChat website (note that this website presents different content depending on whether it detects your browser is English or Chinese; the English version of the site does not have as much information as the Chinese version)
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