易迅与微信在中国的对决

We’re now joined in the studio by Grace Brown, who can tell us more about Yixin, the latest messaging service to come out of China.

Q1. So Grace, what is Yixin - and how does it compare to WeChat?

A1. Yixin is a mobile messaging service developed by China Telecom and the internet company, NetEase. Like Wechat or ’Weixin’ in Chinese, key features include free text messaging, along with push-to-talk audio voice messaging. It also allows free photo and video sharing. As well as fashionable emoticons, which is important for attracting younger users. Also like WeChat, Yixin supports both iPhone operating systems and Android platforms. But the key difference between the two apps is that while WeChat has invested huge amounts of money into building up its brand image, particularly overseas, Yixin has the edge on cost. It lets Yixin users message non-Yixin users for free, whether or not they’ve installed the app. So this is likely to heat up competition in the domestic market. In fact, founder and CEO of NetEase, William Ding, said, quote: "Market competition is not sufficient. Both users and the market need more choice." WeChat’s parent company, Tencent, says the app now has 235 million users, including overseas. So there’s still more than a billion Chinese phone users who aren’t on WeChat - and Yixin wants to have 100 million of them by the end of the year using the resources of China Telecom.

Q2. What resources does China Telecom have and why are mobile carriers like China Telecom coming together with Internet companies like NetEase?

A2. Well, China Telecom is the country’s third biggest mobile service provider and the biggest fixed-line operator. So it has a vast network across China - the hardware, you could say, which may be why it holds a 73 percent stake in the venture. Whereas NetEase has the ability to innovate more creatively and respond quickly to changing consumer demands. So Yixin adds new features to China Telecom’s old messaging service, Yiliao. By comparison, Tencent launched WeChat on its own - and ran into conflict with mobile carriers, including China Unicom, earlier this year, as it took customers away from traditional, paid messaging services. In July though, China Unicom and Tencent jointly launched China’s first subscriber ID card for WeChat, in Guangdong, signalling they have decided to cooperate, rather than compete. That’s because a growing number of Chinese carriers and Internet companies are teaming up, to get a bigger share of the fast-growing mobile Internet market. According to Xinhua, 80 percent of China’s 590 million Internet users log on via mobile. As the millions of Internet users in the countryside are more likely to buy a phone, than a computer.