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Tencent QQ, generally referred to as QQ, is the most popular free instant messaging computer program in Mainland China.

Naming

The original name of QQ was OICQ (Open ICQ). However, because of the possible trademark infringement with another popular instant messenger (ICQ), and also the fact that neither the program nor the protocol is considered "open", Tencent changed its name to QQ. Because of the lack of openess suggested by the original name (OICQ), some people would also joke about it by referring to it instead as "Oh, ICQ."

Usage

It is estimated that there are over 150 million QQ users in China. As of 5 March 2005, there are an average of 9 million people online at any one time on the Mainland China server.

Outside of China, QQ usage is extremely limited, except in South Africa, where it has been used for at least two or three years and has inspired a song by local band The Finkelsteins called "QQ Me". QQ is used by people who want to communicate with people inside those countries. Examples include expatriates, international students and people studying Chinese. Using QQ on the Mainland China Server is known to be a good resource for learners of Chinese, as most Chinese people who use QQ have little contact with foreigners, and may be eager to make foreign friends.

Development

QQ was initially developed by Tencent Inc. in February 1999. It was first released as a "Network Paging" instant messenger. Then other features were successively added such as chatrooms, games, personal avatars (similar to "Meego" in MSN), internet storage, and internet dating services. Most of these features were free. Its variety of features and easy-to-use interface made it very popular, especially among teenage users. In a few short years it was the most popular instant messenger in China.

The current version of QQ is QQ2006. Tencent periodically releases special versions of QQ to coincide with events such as the Olympics or Chinese New Year.

The official client runs only on Microsoft Windows, but Linux users can talk to friends on the QQ network by installing a third-party plugin for Gaim or one of a number of third-party clients. Several third-party clients also exist for the Mac OS X platform.

In response to competition with MSN Messenger, Tencent released Tencent Messenger, which is targeted to business people. It also provides features that are only available to premium members in normal QQ, but its effect is limited.

Membership

QQ allows free registration for membership. However, the registration was very congested and needed a few retries. In 2002, QQ stopped its free membership registration, requiring all new members to pay a fee. But Tencent reopened the free membership registration in 2003, due to pressure from other instant messengers such as MSN Messenger and Sina UC. Tencent currently offers a premium membership scheme, which offers features such as mobile QQ, ringtone downloads and SMS sending/receieving, but most users are unwilling to pay the price of ￥10 (about 1.25 US dollar) per month. (the Mobile QQ feature is ￥4.5 to ￥5 per month, as stated on the official web site here: http://mq.qq.com/)

Currently, to avoid robot registration, the registration page requires recognization and entering Chinese characters.

Commercial services

  • QQ Premium Membership
  • QQ Friends Advanced (Online making friend service)
  • QQ Games
  • QQ Home (Virtual customisable home)
  • QQ Show (Personal Avatar)
  • Q-Zone (an online space similar to MSN Space)
  • QQ Ringtones
  • QQ Pet

There are also several additional features for mobile phone users:

  • Mobile QQ
  • Super SMS Man
  • QQ Phone
  • PaiPai

Merchandise

Tencent have grasped the halo effect of the QQ brand, and have set up many Q-Gen stores selling QQ branded merchandise such as bags, watches and clothing.

Controversies and criticisms

QQ has faced many criticisms and controversies.

Keyword filtering

In August 2004, QQ Games start to filter keywords such as "钓鱼岛" (Diaoyu Islands) and "保钓" (Movement to protect the Diaoyu Islands). This act caused much controversy and Tencent has since lifted the filter.

QQ real group name scheme

On July 21 2005, Tencent announced its intention to follow orders set by Shenzhen Police and enforce the requirement of real names for all the administrators and founders of QQ Groups. This caused much controversy on whether it can prevent the spread of pornographic and other indecent messages, or whether it intrudes on one's privacy.

QQ levels

Tencent has added a feature called "QQ Levels" which adds a "level" indicated by a number of "suns", "moons" and "stars". Levels are earned by staying logged in for certain amounts of time. It doesn't add any new features to high level users other than giving users with one "sun" or above custom avatars. Many users leave their computer on with QQ running just to earn levels. Many criticise that it is a waste of time and it has no purpose other than to boost QQ's usage statistics. Others criticise it for wasting electricity.

Plagiarism

Like most of the IM, QQ is known to copy its competitor's features. The interface of early version of Tencent messenger is almost a copy version of ICQ, but as it developed, it starts to look like MSN messenger and the interface of QQ is Luna themed. In addition to interfaces, QQ is also known to copy code and text from its competitors. For example, one release contained Skype's EULA. Besides that, MSN also has lots of features similar with QQ. For example, the feature of grep images and video talk.

Adult materials on QQ.com

There are adult materials (a trend that is seen on many Chinese websites) on the product's homepage, QQ.com. Many people feel that this is inappropriate for a product that includes young people in its target market.

Resource usage

The resources required to run QQ have increased substantially since it was first released, which has caused some people to turn to third party "lite" versions.

Competitors

See also

External links

Windows-only instant messengers

QQ | QQ | QQ | QQ | 腾讯QQ

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Tencent QQ".

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