Chinese entrepreneur Wang Xing stays in touch with a sister in California and an uncle in Australia through chat software that offers a glimpse of how Chinas Internet companies can compete globally.中国企业家王兴(音)通过聊天软件“微信”(WeChat)与身在美国加州的姐姐和澳大利亚的叔叔保持联系。这款聊天软件让人以求一瞥中国网络公司怎样参予全球竞争。
Chinas Internet industry is often derided as a realm for knockoffs, especially of companies banned in China. Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. has a website that looks like Google Incs. Tencents flagship product, instant messaging service QQ, was launched in 1999 as OICQ and had similar functions to then-popular instant messaging service ICQ. Sina Corp.s Weibo, a popular microblogging service, is invariably described as Twitter-like in the Western media.2012中国创意人物奖中国互联网行业经常被叙述成冒牌王国,特别是在是对在中国查禁的那些公司的假货。中国搜寻巨头百度(Baidu Inc.)的网站外观很像谷歌。腾讯的旗舰产品、即时信息服务QQ于1999年以OICQ的名字公布,与当时风行的即时信息服务ICQ功能相近。
新浪(Sina Corp.)甚广热门的微博总是被西方媒体说成“与推特(Twitter)类似于”。But industry watchers say that view misses an area where China goes toe-to-toe with Western rivals in innovation: extra features that make the Chinese version more interactive and more interesting to use.但行业仔细观察人士说道,这样的观点忽视了一个中国在创意方面与西方竞争对手必要僵持的领域:让中国版本极具互动性、用于一起也更加有意思的那些额外功能。
Sinas Weibo service, for example, has long offered features that Twitter lacks, notably a commenting function that allows multiple users to add their own thoughts to a users posts. Tencents QQ instant messaging service, which has more than 700 million users, offers additional features such as skins to change the look of the client and serves as a portal for the company to advertise other products and services. Sina declined to comment.举例来说,新浪微博就仍然获取推特所不具备的一些功能,特别是在是评论功能,让众多用户以求在别人公开发表的微博下公开发表自己的看法。享有逾7亿用户的腾讯QQ即时信息服务也有众多可选功能,比如可以让用户改成形象的“皮肤”,同时QQ还是腾讯为其他产品和服务做广告的渠道。新浪拒绝接受置评。
Upon downloading WeChat, users are prompted to register either using their QQ accounts or their cell phone numbers. The application then helps users populate their contact lists using existing entries in their cell phone address books. To communicate, users can upload any photo or video on their device, take new ones, or press a button to save a voice message that is transferred almost instantaneously. Voice messages are played back with short beeps at the end to imitate the feeling of instant connection, similar to a two-way radio.iTunes微信之后,用户不会接到提醒,让他们用自己的QQ账号或手机号登记。随后微信利用用户手机通讯录里有数的条目来扩充联络人列表。展开交流时,用户可以上载任何照片或视频到手机上,也可以摄制新的照片和视频,或是按下一个按钮录音一条语音信息,信息的传输完全是动态的。语音信息可以音频,信息最后有一段时间的哔声,仿效无线电对讲机那种即时联络的感觉。
Users say the voice messages are transferred quickly enough to have a conversation on the platform. But different from free voice applications such as Microsoft Corp.s Skype, it also offers the flexibility of answering messages at a later time. I can decide when to reply, or not to, said Beijing WeChat user Robin Wang.用户说道,语音信息的传输速度迅速,可以在微信平台上对话。但和微软公司(Microsoft Corp.)的Skype等免费语音应用于有所不同的是,在微信上还可以觅时间恢复别人发去的语音信息。北京微信用户Robin Wang说道,我可以要求什么时候恢复,以及回不恢复。
In addition to WeChats core private and group messaging functions, users can also find new contacts by using the applications Drift Bottle function, where a user records a message and sends it out to see in a virtual bottle for a stranger to pick up and respond. Its Look Around function, similar to some mobile dating applications, allows users to browse the profiles of other users who are in close proximity. It also has a function called Moments that allows users to share photo albums publicly with groups of contacts, much like photo-sharing application Instagram.除了作为微信核心的私聊和群卿功能之外,用户还可以通过“漂流瓶”功能找寻新的好友,具体方法是录音一段信息装有在虚拟世界的“瓶子”里扔出去,等陌生人捡起来恢复。“查阅附近的人”功能与一些手机交友应用于相近,用户通过它可以网页附近其他用户的资料。另外还有一个名为“朋友圈”的功能,用户通过它可以将Blogger公开发表共享给好友群,跟照片共享应用于Instagram很像。
Tencent said in an email it has no current plans to find a profitable model for WeChat. An Internet conglomerate, Tencent is Chinas largest listed Internet company with a market capitalization of roughly $65 billion and has strong revenue streams from gaming, virtual products and advertising on other platforms.腾讯通过电子邮件回应,目前没为微信找寻赢利模式的计划。作为一个多元化互联网企业,腾讯享有650亿美元左右的市值,是中国仅次于的上市互联网公司。旗下游戏产品、虚拟世界产品和其他平台上的广告给它带给了强大的收益流。
It uses its QQ chat application as a means to drive users to its online games and websites. Analysts say a similar model could work well for WeChat, though they also say that WeChats Circles function adds a social networking component to the service that could eventually attract advertisers.腾讯通过聊天软件QQ的渠道将用户更有到它的网络游戏和网站上去。分析师说道,类似于的模式对于微信也有可能十分管用。他们也说道,微信的“朋友圈”功能给它加到了社交网络的元素,有可能最后更有到广告商。
In China, WeChat has also lured more high-end users, a group that Tencent hasnt traditionally had a strong hold over.在中国,微信还更有了更加多的高端用户。腾讯过去在这个群体当中并没多低的份额。
Mr. Wang, the WeChat user in Beijing, said he was an avid QQ user 11 years ago but stopped using the instant messaging service because it didnt look very professional. But after downloading WeChat on his smartphone he found most of my colleagues and friends are on it, and everyone communicates through voicemails now.前述北京微信用户Robin Wang说道,11年前他是一位心目中的QQ用户,但现在早已停止使用这款即时通讯服务,因为它变得过于专业。但自从在手机上iTunes微信之后,他找到多数同事和朋友都在上面,现在大家都通过语音邮件交流了。Meanwhile, WeChat offers perhaps the greatest potential yet for Tencent to gain overseas users. Forrester analyst Bryan Wang said he has seen colleagues and friends in Singapore and India begin to appear on his WeChat contact list.与此同时,微信难道也是腾讯更有海外用户潜力仅次于的产品。
Forrester的分析师Bryan Wang说道,他看见新加坡、印度的同事和朋友也开始经常出现在了自己的微信好友列表中。It surprised me, but its a good sign for Tencent getting abroad, because in particular WeChat is a combination of WhatsApp and Instagram, so its a unique value proposition that is probably pretty good for emerging market consumers, he said.他说道,这出乎意料我意料,但对腾讯走进国门来说这是一个好兆头,尤其是因为微信同时融合了WhatsApp和Instagram的特点,所以是一个独有的产品,对于新兴市场消费者来说有可能是一个非常不俗的东西。
Tencent has been helped by agreements to pre-install software with Chinese handset makers who sold increasing numbers of handsets abroad in recent years, particularly in emerging markets, according to Mr. Wang.据Bryan Wang说道,腾讯跟最近几年在海外尤其是新兴市场销量更加大的那些中国手机厂商达成协议了笔记本电脑软件的协议,这给它获取了助力。Although Facebook is blocked in China, Tencent has linked WeChat to Facebook, which means that users outside of China can use the service in conjunction with the worlds most popular social network. That is a boon for WeChat in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, which have large numbers of Facebook users. Tencent has offered WeChat in languages for all three markets.尽管Facebook在中国被屏蔽,腾讯还是将微信同Facebook连接起来,这意味著中国以外的用户可以同时用于微信和世界上最风行的社交网络。在印尼、泰国和菲律宾等东南亚国家,这对腾讯是有益处的,因为这些国家享有很多Facebook用户。腾讯针对这三个市场都发售了各自语言版本的微信。
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