WeChat Landline Call Feature Confirmed; App Set To Go Up Against Skype?
The China Based messaging app WeChat has come up with its new venture "WeChat Out", a feature that lets users make calls to Landlines and Cell phones.
This new feature is currently available only in the USA, Hong Kong and India. But the company has promised coverage for more regions in the days to come. This move follows a similar service provided by the multifunction Asian messaging app 'Line' (which calls its service Line Out) and creates a competition with other such apps with the same feature namely WhatsApp and Skype.
As cited by The Verge, the WeChat app's landline call feature comes after the announcement that the company has credited all of its users with $1 credit as a New Year gift that will enable users around the world to make up to 100 minutes of free calls.
Since its launch in the year 2011, WeChat is owned by the Chinese Internet giany 'Tencent'. And since then it has been one of the most popular and widely used app around the world. 650 million users in the third quarter of the last year have been reported to be using this app.
While Whatsapp's main feature being text messaging, WeChat has been expanding its services by making partnerships with various companies that lets users do shopping, book flight tickets, book a cab, etc, all via a single app. The company's previous update (in October) enabled nine-person video calling. But Now, with We Chat Out, it seems to be challenging Skype directly. As noted by Venturebeat.com, Tencent is opening up its mobile payments service to overseas transaction that were earlier limited to Chinese credit card holders, now offered to users in the U.S and other regions. "Top up is currently provided via either Apple App Store in-app payment or via Google Wallet. As a consequence, no credit card information is currently given to WeChat when topping up credit on WeChat Out." Said one of the company's spokesperson.
However, WeChat's new feature that lets users to make calls to landline numbers and cell phone numbers could emerge as a threat to its rivalling firms.
