WeChat challenges Skype with calls to cell phones and landlines

[Wireless News]

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/w92a.QWp6_ewfZeTfTXucA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3NfbGVnbztmaT1maWxsO2g9ODY7cT03NTt3PT EzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/homerun/verge.vox.com/2c6e1d88a7e46fac4a145b2635377db8 (http://news.yahoo.com/wechat-challenges-skype-calls-cell-154325791.html)Chinese messaging app WeChat is moving into new territory, launching a feature that lets users-call cell phones and landlines.-WeChat Out, as the service is called, is currently available only in the USA, Hong Kong, and India, but the company is promising coverage for "more countries and regions in the near future." The move follows the launch of a-similar service from Line (another extremely popular, multifunction Asian-messaging app) in 2014, and puts WeChat in direct competition with the likes of Skype and WhatsApp. As a "New Year gift," WeChat has also given all of its users 99 cents of credit, which the company says will provide "up to 100 minutes of free calls" around the globe. WeChat is owned by Chinese internet giant Tencent, and since its launch in 2011 as Weixin, it's become one of the most popular apps in the world, with 650 million users in the third quarter of 2015 (compared to WhatsApp's 900 million or so).



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