Chinese microblogging giant Sina is about to launch its very own OTT messaging app to compete with the likes of WeChat, LINE and WhatsApp, reports the Financial Times (FT).
According to the company’s CEO Charles Chao, users in China will be able to try out the new service later this week, with the ability to chat, access news feeds and pictures, and there’s also be a greater emphasis on group messaging than that’s the case on Weibo, China’s “version” of Twitter.
It is said that the success of Tencent’s WeChat/Weixin has impacted the popularity of Weibo. Tencent has some 195 million monthly active and 300 million registered users.
Chinese mobile operators China Mobile and China Telecom both have launched their own OTT messaging apps, while China Unicom partnered with Tencent to launch a SIM card for WeChat.
[Via: MobileWorldLive]