The move means WeChat has decided to create an entirely separate app for a function that it already offers within the main WeChat app
Image credit: Albert Hsieh / Flickr
Tencent-owned WeChat – China’s massively popular instant messaging platform that is quickly heading towards half a billion active users — has launched a standalone VoIP app that allows users to make free calls over WiFi to anyone else on the platform, as first reported by TechCrunch.
As a hint to the industry at just how serious it is about taking over China’s VoIP space, Tencent has even branded the new app Dianhua or ‘telephone’ in the English-language equivalent. This shouldn’t be confused with Beijing-based telephone data service provider DianHua.cn.
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The move means WeChat has decided to create an entirely separate app for a function that it already offers within the main WeChat app. As Facebook spun off Messenger, it is a sign that it wants to be seen as having a strong offering in the space that can stand on its own rather than just being a feature within a flagship app.
For now, the service will only be available in China on iOS and Android, but it’s worth noting that Tencent recently launched a globally-available VoIP app called Lighttalk that is available in both English and Chinese.
Earlier this year, IDC predicted that China’s telecom market would grow by nearly eight per cent year-on-year to US$191.9 billion in 2014. Move like this one by Tencent shows the space is continuing to heat up, with traditional telcos like China Mobile and China Unicom being challenged more than ever.
Funny to anyone who understands even a little Mandarin, the standard request to ‘give me a call’ (‘gei wo da dianhua’ in pinyin) now plays on the name of Tencent’s new app. The word ‘dianhua’ can be used as both a noun and a verb — just another clever and bold marketing ploy by one of the China’s most disruptive companies.
Let’s see where it goes.
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