As so often happens in the Chinese web landscape, there’s already a very healthy amount of competition amongst what some people think will be the hottest type of app in 2012: social video-sharing apps. Or, to put it another way: “microvideo” apps.
These apps capture short videos of fun things that are happening to you, and let you share them to microblog sites like Sina Weibo. Many Chinese-made apps of this kind also feature video-filters so that you can stylize your mini cinematic exploits as well. Among the competition, users can pick out which app best suits their needs based on what kind of a social network it involves, which services it can sync/share to, and how much they can customize their clips.
Here are the ten main social video-sharing apps coming out of China right now: seven are from startups, three from major web companies. In each instance, click on the red-highlighted name of the app to get it from its homepage:
WeiPai
Video upload limit: 3 minutes
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
The first such social video app that I tried was this one, Weipai. Now maturing nicely into a social network filled with young, smartphone-toting users, its iOS app is looking well polished and already up to v3.0. But, very bizarrely, its Android app is buggy and very rough, left pretty much abandoned since it came out last summer. With more Chinese on Android than iOS by some metrics, that seems like an unwise choice.
WeiKu
Video upload limit: 30 seconds
App for iOS only (with Android in the works)
Video filters: Yes
We looked at Weiku quite recently, and found that it decided to limit videos to just 30 seconds in length. The app developers apparently believing that was quite enough time for your friend to show his no-hands biking or for your cat to look adorable. On top of that it has built a mini-social network (as have most of these apps) where you can browse video missives from fellow users of the app.
iSheHui
Video upload limit: None
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
The two founders of iShehui snagged funding from Cyberagent Ventures back in February that amounted to 10 million RMB (US$1.59 million). The company claims that its app has been downloaded just over two million times, and it features the usual array of fellow members’ videos to browse and several methods of sharing your videos.
Movie360
Video upload limit: None
App for iOS only
Video filters: Yes
This is the only app that’s not free, costing 18 RMB in the Chinese app store. From the makers of Camera360, this Movie360 app is a little different from the others in this list in that it really is just an app that’s stripped of ancillary social networking. Instead of all that, you upload your video straight to major video platforms such as Youku, Sina Video, or YouTube. The Chengdu-based Pinguo startup behind this employed the same tactic with its photo-filter app, which has enjoyed some international success as a result.
Yi Xia
Video upload limit: None
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
We looked into Yi Xia last December and found it to be buggy yet promising. In the intervening months, it has gotten a bit more stable and also had a facelift so that it now resembles the American app Path. With 36 video filters to choose from, it has more stylistic choice than all the others.
Vida
Video upload limit: 20 seconds
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
Vida began as just a photo-sharing app – but it recently got updated to support short (very short – just 20-second) videos using its array of real-time filters that it called “insta-render.” With a swish UI and a pretty dynamic social network attached to it, videos are still a small part of its service. Vida has explained to the Chinese media that video uploads are currently only 5 percent of its resources right now.
Vlook
Video upload limit: None
Apps for iOS, Android, and Symbian
Video filters: None
The Vlook app looks the most basic of the selection made by startups (the six apps above this one in the list) and is the only one that lacks video filters.
Sina Paike
Video upload limit: None
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
And now we get to the big boys. Made by Sina (NASDAQ:SINA), this app is hard-wired to Sina Weibo, its popular microblog service. Though it could also be used to do some citizen journalism – which is idiomatically demoted by the “Paike” phrase used in the app’s name – Sina’s app still retains an element of fun with a choice of photo filters.
Youku Paike
Video upload limit: None
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: None
Youku Paike launched earlier this year, and has more of a news-oriented flavour. The app lacks any filters and is filled up mostly with other users’ submitting reports about things happening across the country. As such, it’s not very good as a social video-sharing app – but perhaps Youku (NYSE:YOKU) was aiming instead for clicks and hits coming from breaking news. This isn’t the place for your doe-eyed puppy videos.
Q Pai
Video upload limit: 30 seconds
Apps for iOS and Android
Video filters: Yes
Sina’s main microblog rival, Tencent (HKG:0700), is a bit behind the curve with its Q Pai app, where the video capturing is a bit buried in its mainly photo-oriented feature-set. Geared mainly to work with Tencent products such as QZone and Tencent Weibo, it’s of no use to any people who might want to tweet their videos to Sina Weibo.