Tencent's WeChat v5.0 Adds Game Center, In-app Payment
TechWeb, 8/05/13
Chinese internet and mobile services firm Tencent (0700.HK) released iOS version 5.0 of its WeChat (Weixin) messaging application today, with an Android version 5.0 of the app soon to follow. The latest version of the app has added previously rumored features such as a gaming center, as well as in-app payment features, an emoticon store, and product barcode scanning capabilities.
Two of Tencent's self-developed games are available in the newly added gaming center: casual game Pencil Pilot, and mobile puzzle game Craz3 Match. The emoticon store currently offers five sets of emoticons, each priced at RMB 6. Upon synching bank cards, users can purchase in-app features without the use of a third-party payment processor such as Alipay or Tenpay, simply creating a "WeChat payment password" to complete payments on WeChat.
The app's scanning feature has been expanded from QR code scanning to cover barcodes, images, CD covers, street-scenes, and even words for immediate translation.
The new version of the app has added Tencent's self-developed voice recognition software, allowing for users to speak into the WeChat client and have their messages converted into text.
Additionally, the updated version of WeChat adds a bookmarking feature, "favorite," allowing users to save their favorite content from chats or Moments. There is also a press-and-hold friend-adding feature called "hold together."
Subscription-based news accounts have been grouped into a single folder.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "WeChat to Reorganize Public Accounts, Add E-Commerce Features" MD 6/07/13 issue.
Keywords: Pencil Pilot mobile gaming wireless Tencent third-party payment 0700.HK WeChat mobile IM Craz3 Match
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