Since the worldwide acceptance of smartphones, technology has been rapidly establishing new frontiers in the mobile market, and China is no exception. One thing I’ve observed about the Chinese is, whether riding on a subway alone, or sitting at a dinner table with friends, their faces are buried in the small screen of their handsets. Chinese tech companies are certainly aware of the shifting trend of mobile marketability and have created apps to improve the lives of its citizens. Here are a couple Chinese apps that I find myself constantly using. (Warning: some of these apps are not all foreigner-friendly and do require some familiarity of Chinese)
WeChat (微信)
Formerly (and still locally) known as Weixin, WeChat by Tencent acts as an alternative to traditional SMS but packed really cool additional features. One of my favorite features is the “talk” button where you press and hold a button to send a voice message to your contact. When both you and your contact use this function, WeChat turns into a walkie-talkie (or a poor man’s phone) for communication. Another neat feature that WeChat offers is multi-contact texting, a very big missing feature in regular SMS. Once you establish who you want to send a message to, WeChat will create a chat room for you and your multiple contacts to message each other. WeChat can also link to your phone contacts list, Facebook, and QQ account to automatically recommend friends also using this app. WeChat only requires wireless or 3G (and doesn’t use much data) and best of all, able to chat internationally. WeChat in China has practically replaced SMS and is the de facto method for texting.
Baidu Map
Anywhere else in the world, I would easily choose Google Maps as my go-to GPS. However, because this is China, locating your destination on Google Maps rarely yields accurate results. I’m guessing this is an issue with their bad 关系 (relationship) with the PRC, but many of the destinations Google Maps pinpoints is actually 300-600 meters off its actual location. This is particularly annoying if you have no idea what your surroundings are. Thus, I prefer to use Baidu Maps, which offers the same functions as Google (public transit, driving and walking directions). The one drawback with this app is that it’s almost entirely in Chinese. Road maps and directions are in Chinese and inputting your destination requires Hanzi’s or at least some correct pinyin spelling. So while it’s not as foreigner-friendly, at least you can safely assume that the the destination is accurately pinpointed and will get you where you need to go.
Baidu Music
China is notorious for bootlegging but has been taking steps toward clearing its name. Officially named Baidu 音乐 (Music) over here, China’s music service is free and apparently legal. Provided that you’re located in China and have a Chinese IP, it’s all fair game. Baidu Music allows users to stream Chinese music as well as Western hits. If you really like the song, you can download it with the press of a button to listen offline. And If you feel like singing along with the song, Baidu Music provides dynamic lyrics to do that. Since I’ve been here in China, I’ve slowly made a nice collection of music through this app, guilt-free. If you enjoy listening to music but hate feeling like a pirate, why not take advantage while in Mainland?
With the majority of China’s youth glued to their handsets these days, it’s no surprise that SNS’s have put a lot of effort into developing slick mobile apps to accompany their desktop counterparts. Such is the case with Sina’s Weibo mobile app. With available versions on iPhone, Android and Blackberry, Weibo mobile allows you to seamlessly update your followers through your phone just as you would on a computer. Weibo also allows you to check-in and share your current location with friends as well as see who else is in the vicinity. So whether you’re in a cafe, a popular restaurant or the Great Wall of China, Weibo allows you to shout out to the 1.3 billion audience members where you are. Another feature on the mobile app is the Instagram-like ability to put various types of filters on the pictures you take, in case you feel like sharing photos and putting a pseudo-vintage spin on it. Although WeChat may be giving it a run for its money, Weibo is probably the most used Chinese app in China.
DianPing
Yelp’s Chinese counterpart has made its way to the masses here at the PRC. Using your phones, GPS, DianPing shows you all the restaurants, cafes, bars, movie theaters, and KTV bars in your vicinity. Each restaurant listed comes with aggregated user reviews and provides an average cost per person. DianPing also has downloadable coupon/groupons attached to participating restaurants, when available. The best part about DianPing is that you don’t really need to understand Chinese to use this app. With a little common sense, it’s actually quite intuitive. For those who look simply at the average price and rating of a restaurant and don’t bother with reading reviews, this app is worth a download.
Koombah 