QQ

QQ Player 1.0.187 Review

Android's built-in video player is fine, but it doesn't support all of the formats you probably use. QQ Player supports more formats and has a few standout features, as well, but the video and audio quality aren't stellar and the app's menus can be tough to navigate, too.

The app's language is a mix of Chinese characters and broken English, which makes it difficult to understand at times. It gives you an annoying message every time you try to exit, too. When you first use the app, it can take a while for it to … Read more

Instant messaging, Chinese only right now

QQ from Tencent is one of the most popular instant messaging programs in Asia. Originating in China, it is widely used among the Chinese communities in most countries, with more than 100 million accounts active. The iPhone and iPad app can be hard to locate (it does not exist on U.S. iTunes) but is available through numerous sites. QQ installs easily although the interface presents in Chinese characters only.

To use QQ as a messaging platform, you need an account. Once online you can see friends who are also online, and have the ability to conduct multiple chats simultaneously … Read more

Try QQ International; more than 700 million users can't be wrong!

What's the most popular Instant Messaging client? That depends on what you mean by "popular," but did you think Tencent's QQ International was one of them? If popularity means number of users or size of the network, few of the well-known IM clients can approach Tencent's claims of more than 710 million users. As you might have guessed, QQ is one of the most popular IM and video chat tools in China, which means it's got a user base that's difficult to match. QQi gives international users access to QQi's immense Chinese … Read more

Chinese service adds 'Sent from my iPhone' for a fee

I put a lot of thought into whether to leave the "Sent from my iPad" tag on my e-mails.

On one hand, I didn't feel the need to advertise my hardware. On the other, I thought it might excuse some of the inevitable ham-fisted typos I'd make with the onscreen keyboard.

I never considered there are people in the world who would pay for the privilege of having "Sent from my iPad" or "Sent from my iPhone" at the end of their messages.… Read more

Featured Freeware: Pidgin

Your mother uses AOL Instant Messenger. Your spouse prefers MSN. Your office insists on Yahoo. Your ex is on MySpaceIM (shudder). What are you going to do? You could run all those chat clients at once, or you could use the multichat protocol app formerly known as Gaim: Pidgin, available for Windows, Linux, and in a portable Windows version. Like Trillian, Fire, and other third-party IM clients, this open-source messaging application lets you access multiple IM networks from one window, including Google Talk and ICQ as well as lesser-known protocols such as Jabber and Gadu-Gadu.

Pidgin's IM features are … Read more

Red heart spreads as MSN and QQ symbol of Chinese patriotism

Xinhua and a Zhejiang province news website report on the spread of "Red Heart China" on IM and e-mail platforms.

The Zhejiang News Center link, auto-translated here, says the word is spreading via QQ, a top instant message platform in China.

Hexun.com carries step-by-step instructions in how to inscribe your MSN account with slogans declaring "I love the Olympics" and encouraging them to go on strongly.

This is all part of an extensive reaction to foreign press coverage on the recent events in Tibet. Other websites, including anti-cnn.com, have emerged to point out examples … Read more

AIM 6.5: The '90s aren't dead...yet

AOL has upgraded its classic messenger AIM to version 6.5, building on the makeover the program got last year when it rose up from its deathbed to version 6 with a host of long-overdue improvements. Unless you're a die-hard AIM fan, though, these latest changes might not be readily apparent.

They might not be worth it, either.