For any expat moving to China, upon arrival should download this app immediately to their handsets. Tencent’s WeChat (locally known as Weixin) is quite possibly the most useful app available on the Chinese app market. This handy chat tool is used primarily for casual communication but can also spill into the workplace environment as a collaboration tool. Because its convenient nature and comprehensive features, it’s surprising that WeChat hasn’t reached the mainstream audience of Western countries.
We all know that SMS is an aging messaging tool that is constrained within its own limits, such as absurd overage charges, character limitations or lack of group chat to name a few. While Whatapp, the US-based instant messaging system solves these fundamental problems, the innovation seemed to stop there. Meanwhile, the creators of WeChat have refined said problems as well as add their own unique features to surpass the capabilities of what short messaging can really be, especially in the age of 3G/4G and the advent of superphones.
Basic Features
The biggest complaint that SMS users have these days is that they texts are available only with a monthly plan. Sure, there are unlimited text plans, but for those who have a monthly limit, over-texting can be costly. WeChat is a free app that requires very little of your monthly data plan or is just plain free on WI-FI. And because it doens’t use a SMS plan, WeChat is on the same level as E-mailing because it lets you send internationally messages.
For many texters with a monthly cap, sending and receiving texts add up real fast, especially when engaged in a conversation. To make matters worse, there’s a 160-character limit. SMS messages, sent and received, add up real quick and should be used efficiently. It can get a little irksome when someone sends one-word texts such as “yes”, “no” or “k” because it’s essentially a waste of a text. WeChat has no such character limit making conversations seem like a seamless chat on your phone without worrying about overages or character conservation.
Another problem with SMS is that sometimes, you may want to communicate with a group of friends. While a group blast is suitable, the recipient is not aware of who else was involved in the message and thus a communication breakdown. WeChat’s group chat feature, simply add who you want into the group and start messaging away. Others may also add whom they feel are relevant to the group as well. And if you wanted to say something off the record from the group, simply private message the intended recipient. This works really well as a collaborative tool for teams and/or associations to keep everyone in the picture.
Cool Features
This where WeChat sets itself apart from its US counterpart. It’s like WeChat took casual communication to new level. One feature that is quite popular is the voice chat feature, which allows friends to leave a voice message up to 1 minute for each other to hear. When used properly, this neat feature becomes a walk-talkie and replacement for a phone. No minutes are charged as it only uses your 3G or WI-FI. Voice chat is most useful when your hands are tied and it’s inconvenient to type out a quick message.
Like with iPhone’s built-in Facetime, WeChat’s video call allows users to see each other why they are chatting. Provided that your phone has a front-facing camera, video call lets you use your data plan or WI-FI to make a mobile video chat. One cool tip, is that you can toggle between video mode and handset mode. If you turn into handset mode, then you have yourself a phone running on data or WI-FI. Be careful with this feature though, because using it on 3G will eat up your data plan.
WeChat allows you to add friends through various methods. Besides detecting your friends from your contact list, you can also use the QR code scan, look around, and shake features. QR scan let’s users scan each other’s given QR code to connect. Look around utilizes your phone’s GPS to locate other WeChat users nearby you. Shake is the most unique in that both you and your friend can shake your phones to add each other. Some of these features may seem gimmicky, but it’s sure more convenient than typing in your friends’ ID name to add them.
Since social sharing is all the rage these days, WeChat decided to employ its own mini-social network that allows users to post status updates or pictures to share with contacts. Moments is not as substantial as Facebook’s or even Sina Weibo’s mobile platform, but it’s taking the right step toward building its own dedicated community. Other mobile apps have already employed functions to allow you to post their material on Moments. In due time, Moments will likely be just as powerful as any social sharing platform out there.
The one feature that really takes advantage of technology these days is the Web Grab feature. Web Grab allows users to seamlessly pull images from webpages straight to your phone. No cables or saving are required, bit just a simple plug-in on your browser. Once you see an online picture you want to save and/or share on WeChat, simply wave your phone in front of your monitor and the image will be transferred from your computer to your phone within seconds. You can then take this photo to share with a friend or a group of friends on chat or on Moments.
That’s a lot of features packed into one app. But what really makes WeChat special is that it manages to blend them all in seamlessly for a truly great user experience. Because of it’s ubiquitous presence in China, this chat tool has practically replaced the services of SMS. Most people who exchange phone number contacts usually ask to connect via WeChat as well. In short, WeChat is one of the mobile apps that have restored my faith in Chinese innovation. WeChat is available on Apple, Android, Windows, Blackberry, and Symbian clients
Koombah 