The Chinese-made messaging app WeChat got a version for older Blackberry models late last year. But now the makers of WeChat have promised that the app is making its way to the newest BlackBerry 10 OS “in the near future”. The pledge was made on the official Facebook page of WeChat Malaysia a couple of weeks ago, and was more recently noticed by the crew at 36Kr:
As with the version for older devices, the BlackBerry 10 iteration of WeChat will be crucial in its expansion into Southeast Asia and the Middle East. While much of the app’s 300-million-plus user-base is in China, the parent company Tencent (HKG:0700) is keen for the app to be China’s first social media success story, and gave it an English name in April 2012. WeChat is being promoted overseas via things like its Facebook page, but it’s up against stronger offline marketing by NHN Japan and its Line app.
Surely the BlackBerry 10 version of WeChat would get features that put it on par with its iOS and Android siblings – like video calling, song recognition, and voice chatrooms. Then it wouldn’t be so inevitably bare-bones as the BB5/6/7 and Symbian versions.
Tencent’s focus on Asia seems to be paying off, and a BB10 version of the app should help – so long as BlackBerry’s newest platform proves a hit in the Canadian company’s few remaining strongholds.
This is a heatmap of WeChat’s global user-base so far:
Click to enlarge the map.
(Source: 36Kr – article in Chinese)
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