What's the buzz

With 500 million users (100 million of them outside of China) and the fifth most-downloaded smartphone app in the world, WeChat appears to be well on its way to establishing itself as China's first global Internet brand, says a commentary in a US media outlet. Are you a WeChat user? And do you think WeChat has the potential to become a global brand? These are the questions that China Daily's mobile phone news readers respond to below:

I haven't used WeChat - nor do many of my friends use it - because I think its security system is far from perfect. Although WeChat still has a lot of room for improvement, it will still become an international brand. The app can make communication more convenient by greatly improving its speed. That 20 percent of its users are based overseas is proof of its potential of becoming a global brand.

LUCK, Beijing

I am a WeChat user, and I regard it as an app of great potential. The more I use it, the more I find it user-friendly not only because it is the first voice software, but also for its practical and interesting functions. I always send voice messages to my family and friends via WeChat. It can also send compressed but still relatively high-quality videos and pictures without consuming too much data traffic.

MOHUNJIAN, Tianjin

As a WeChat user, I am quite confident about the app's potential of becoming a global brand. The software has many advantages such as real-time communication, free download and use, photo and text sharing as well as voice messages. Besides, QQ users can log onto WeChat with their QQ accounts, instead of having to register a second time. Given the huge number of QQ users - hundreds of millions - WeChat has a potentially huge customer base. As long as Tencent, the developer of WeChat, continues to innovate with an eye on the international market, nothing can prevent it from becoming a global communication tool.

BONNIE, Jinan, Shandong province

My experience of using WeChat has convinced me that the software has the potential of becoming a global brand. Almost everyone I know uses this app, because it has not only overcome the restrictions of traditional instant-messaging software, but also allows a discussion group to converse with others simultaneously. More importantly, it provides very good privacy protection provided one sets up the relevant functions. With continuous software update and more people being drawn to it, WeChat will certainly become an international brand.

A READER, Changsha, Hunan province

I used to use WeChat but stopped doing so because I found it inconvenient for chatting; it cannot match QQ or MSN as far as social functions are concerned, and it cannot replace Renren or Facebook. Users in different countries have different habits and preferences, so having a huge number of users in one country does not necessarily mean an app can dominate the global market. QQ is an apt example of such an app.

LIZAOZAO, Chengdu, Sichuan province

I don't think WeChat has the potential to become a global brand, although I use the app myself. WeChat is a third-generation communication software, following QQ and micro blogs, and will be replaced by fourth-generation apps sooner or later. Changing simple text messages to a complicated combination of texts, voice messages and pictures has shifted the software's (and its users') focus to entertainment, which I think is its biggest disadvantage.

JASON, Foshan, Guangdong province

(China Daily 12/23/2013 page11)