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Tencent invests in Dianping, ‘China’s Yelp,’ to boost e-commerce on its WeChat messaging app

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 9:23 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Asia, chat apps, e-commerce, wechat

WeChat2 520x245 Tencent invests in Dianping, Chinas Yelp, to boost e commerce on its WeChat messaging app

Chinese Internet giant Tencent announced today that it has taken a 20 percent stake in Dianping.com, a Chinese daily deals and local reviews site that is often compared to US-based Yelp, as it seeks to boost e-commerce on its messaging platforms QQ and Weixin (known as WeChat outside of China). 

Dianping has built itself up as the go-to platform in China for customer reviews since it was established in 2003. Other than providing local merchant listings and corresponding reviews, Dianping is also a group-buying platform that serves up money-saving deals.

Tencent says that it will integrate Dianping’s content, user base and offline merchant network accumulated over the past 10 years with its instant messaging platform QQ and wildly popular chat app Weixin to build up a strong “online-to-offline” ecosystem in China. This means that Dianping content — including merchant information, consumer reviews, discounted offers and group buying, as well as online restaurant reservations and take-out ordering services, can all be easily accessed by Weixin users.

Notably, Tencent says that the integration will help provide merchants online-to-offline commerce solutions on mobile Internet, hinting that we could very soon see more merchants jumping on board Weixin to sell items directly within the app.

In August last year, the company rolled out a long-awaited update to its mobile messaging app Weixin that incorporated payments. This paved the way for merchants to set up corporate accounts for people to follow, while WeChat would handle “technical integration and support for these vendors, including page design and payment linkups.”

Martin Lau, the president of Tencent, says the company is looking forward to”helping local businesses extend their consumer reach and deepen their consumer interaction.”

Tencent didn’t disclose the amount it paid for its investment in Dianping, but rumors previously suggested that Tencent bought a 20-25 percent stake at a valuation of $1.8 billion – $2 billion.

Essentially, with its latest move, Tencent is upping the ante of m-commerce, seeking to drive mobile shopping right within its communication platforms — which would pose a huge threat to Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, which is already stepping up its mobile social efforts. Alibaba’s CEO Jonathan Lu has pledged to continue the e-commerce giant’s string of big investments as it continues focusing on improving its services for mobile.

Headline image via WeChat

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Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe – goes on sale in April

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 8:58 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Gadgets, nokia

Nokia Treasure Tag in post 520x245 Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe goes on sale in April

Nokia is introducing a new way to keep valuables safe on the go using your smartphone. Nokia Treasure Tag is a smart peripheral that syncs with Lumia devices to help keep track of keys, wallets, bags and other physical items — the device has been rumored since last summer.

The matchbox sized product (which measures 30 x 30 x 10mm) is available in a choice of four colors — cyan, yellow, white and black – and uses an NFC or Bluetooth connection and accompanying app to pair with a Lumia device. The idea is to prevent the item it is attached too being lost — the Lumia will play an alert if it is separated from the Treasure Tag and will pull up a map (using Nokia HERE, naturally) to help locate it.

Nokia Treasure Tag feat Nokia Treasure Tag is a $30 Lumia accessory to help keep valuables safe goes on sale in April

Each Lumia can be linked to as many as four different Treasure Tags — which are managed via a Live Tile on the device’s start screen and can be deactivated when not needed. Nokia says that Treasure Tags have up to six months of battery life, and use a replaceable coin cell battery (CR-2032) for power.

The tags will go on sale worldwide in April priced at €24,90 ($29.90), and required paired Lumia devices to have installed the Lumia Black update. 

Interestingly, Nokia says that there will be “third-party applications for Treasure Tag to support Android and iOS devices,” but provides no further details.

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Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Google’s apps with its own

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 8:15 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Mobile

452062085 520x245 Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Googles apps with its own

It’s no secret that Google is developing Android in part to promote many of its core services such as Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube. Yandex, often referred to as the “Google of Russia”, is now trying to break that influence with some free Android firmware that comes with its rival apps pre-installed.

Called Yandex.Kit, it offers an exclusive launcher based on Yandex.Shell and some of the company’s most prolific Android offerings, including Yandex.Maps, Yandex.Search and Yandex.Store – a marketplace with over 100,000 apps that’s designed to compete with the Google Play store.

YandexKit homescreen Yandex launches free Android firmware Yandex.Kit in a bid to replace Googles apps with its ownHuawei and Explay have thrown their support behind Yandex.Kit, agreeing to launch a handset each (Huawei Honor 3 Yandex and Explay Flame) with the firmware in Russia next month. Yandex is offering it on a “fee-free” basis, so there’s little risk for either OEM at this stage.

While Yandex appears to be focused on Russia for now, it hasn’t discounted interest from smartphone makers and carriers active in international markets. Companies targeting other regions will be offered a restricted version of Yandex.Kit, which includes the Yandex.Shell user interface, Yandex.Browser and Yandex.Store for now.

The idea is simple enough. If smartphones come with Yandex apps pre-installed, people are more likely to use them and forgo any third-party alternatives, including those developed by Google. For domestic carriers and OEMs, it’s a chance to differentiate with a software experience that customers in Russia will hopefully recognize and trust.

Image Credit:  GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images

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Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real-time co-authoring, and easier video sharing

Feb19
by on February 19, 2014 at 8:00 am
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Insider, Mobile, Product Updates

OneDrive 520x245 Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real time co authoring, and easier video sharing

Microsoft today officially relaunched SkyDrive as OneDrive, giving its existing users access to their files on the new service by simply logging in at onedrive.com. At the same time, Microsoft is using its legal requirement to change the name as an opportunity to push its marketing message as well as add some new features.

We spoke to Angus Logan, Microsoft’s OneDrive Head of Product Management and Product Marketing, who described the renewed service as “one place for your photos, videos, documents, and files across all your devices.” Here’s the corresponding OneDrive introductory video:

The transition from SkyDrive to OneDrive will be a seamless one. We asked Logan, and he confirmed that all mobile users who currently have the SkyDrive app will not need to uninstall it first and then install the OneDrive app. If their platform supports automatic update, the app will silently update (like Android and iOS 7). If not, users will see that an update is available and the old app will be replaced.

OneDrive on Windows 8 CameraRoll Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real time co authoring, and easier video sharing

So, what’s new? In short: the ability to share and view videos just as easily as photos (thanks to MPEG real-time transcoding), automatic camera roll backup for Android, and real time co-authoring with Office Web apps.

Microsoft has also added new ways for OneDrive users to earn more storage, on top of the 7GB everyone gets for free. You can earn 3GB more just for using the camera backup feature. You can also receive up to 5GB more for referring friends (500MB for each friend who accepts an invitation). So that’s up to 15GB for free, and there’s also a new monthly billing option for the 50GB, 100GB, and 200GB plans (previously you had to pay for a whole year).

onedrive devices Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real time co authoring, and easier video sharing

On top of all that, OneDrive expands on what SkyDrive already offered:

  • Available across every major device and platform: It’s built into the latest versions of Windows, Windows Phone, Office, and Xbox. You can also make it the default storage option, so you never have to worry about where your files are being saved. Android, iOS, and OS X also have respective OneDrive apps.
  • The best way to store, view and share photos and videos: No need to manually upload photos or videos. Start screen integration with Windows 8.1 and even Xbox slide shows means give you more ways to share your content with family and friends, and OneDrive also features one-click sharing to Facebook and email. Last but not least, you can record and share gameplay from your Xbox.
  • Perfect for sharing documents: OneDrive is built into Office as the default save location, so you can see the recent documents you were working on and pick up right where you left off even if you switch devices. Real-time co-authoring using the free online version of Office in OneDrive lets multiple people work on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents simultaneously, always having access to the latest version and being able to see edits as they happen.
  • Built for businesses too: OneDrive for Business lets companies give their employees the ability to store, sync, and share files across multiple devices with ease, manageability and security.

The last point is worth expanding on: Logan told us SkyDrive Pro wasn’t renamed as “OneDrive Pro” because there was some confusion around whether the product was just a more feature-filled version of Microsoft’s cloud storage platform. It’s not. OneDrive for business is… well, only for businesses. Logan told us it’s not getting any new features today, but the company will share more at its SharePoint Conference in March.

OneDrive First Run Experience Microsoft SkyDrive becomes OneDrive, gets camera backup for Android, real time co authoring, and easier video sharing

Last but not least, Microsoft is celebrating today’s news by giving away 100GB of free storage for one year to 100,000 people. If you’re interested, you’ll need to follow OneDrive on Twitter as the company will only be sharing details there.

Top Image Credit: Microsoft

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