Hi Moondog,

When I go to HowToChina.com I just get a box asking for an email address. Is there a different link? Thanks

We haven't turned on the website yet because we can't accommodate more than 20 users at this point in time (as you might imagine "how to x China?" is a pretty common search term). But, if you're in Wechat, you can simply search for it (no spaces). Alternatively, I can email you the QR code.

My biz partner (also in China) and I tried out the recent "video call" feature for the first time earlier this week during one of our evening calls because Skype was being annoying. I had noticed previously, but dismissed it as something that would surely be a let down. Furthermore, I simply don't like the idea of video calls (we're not living the Jetsons' Era yet, after all... as soon as I get my first robotic ayi, I'll succumb to the video thing).

Anyway, I took the plunge, and was simply blown away by the quality... AMAZING. Furthermore, I learned how to disable video within the first 3 seconds... so no problems there.

I would probably only use this function when on wifi because (based on the video/sound clarity) I'm guessing the data consumption is non-trivial.

Moondog, sorry about that. I totally forgot the time difference. In my defense I haven't slept in close to 42 hours, so I'm a little askew. Anyway, yes please do send me the QR code. Is there a Wechat tutorial? So far here's what I have on there: the Wechat team and you. Technology + me = kaploooie.

All through WeChat

http://androidcommunity.com/xiaomi-m...sale-20131129/

I really wished I could get a MI3, but it seems they'll keep their superior phones for themselves :(

So true, I just bought my first chinese smartphone on Chinese Amazon- It was 650 RMB, Its a Android Lenovo A850 , unlocked with two sim card slots, 5.5 " screen. Great dual language aps. Now i will try my ATT go phone chip & see if it works in Mexico.
- Thread Op- I just did install we-chat on this phone, so now have we-chat on both the Ipad 2 & the phone.

Partly due to this thread, I have downloaded wechat.

Must admit, this is pretty cool tool. I really like and dislike the mini posts people make of the stuff they are selling. This can be a great marketing tool for the future.

I don't understand the bottle feature but the shake feature is just a tad creepy.

Annoying part of this is the constant barrage of updates my pals seems to make and the drain on my battery.

Moondog, is that a picture of you in the train?

Also just on we-chat this month. yes the shake feature is creepy.

I like the Discover people nearby and the Album feature. Also some of the china conferences/Forums have a we-chat ID with the schedules and other reference notes.

I finally linked one of my CCs to Wechat today (I didn't think this was possible for non-China ID holders because whenever trying to register my Chinese cards, I was unable to get past the ID field, but I can now confirm that Visa/MC/Discover work fine). Now, I'll never need to ask a Chinese person to top up my phones again, and payment QR codes are going to start popping up everywhere (e.g. convenience stores, taxis, restaurants).

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 4.4.2; HTC One_M8 Build/KOT49H) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/35.0.1916.141 Mobile Safari/537.36)

Good to hear it works for you. Not sure about the non-Chenises ID bit though.

I never had that and was able to set up using Chase Corp Visa perfectly.

Er, top up phones? Didn't you use taobao for that?

We still top up our cell phones via taobao from Japan, no need for a credit card and you get a small discount.

I've been asking colleagues to top up for me for about 8 months. They used to use taobao but made the switch to wx earlier this month. The process is really fast!

Today, Tencent relaxed its restrictions wrt foreign company Wechat accounts:

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/cgi-bin/ann...=11&lang=zh_CN

This is good news for many of you -- who want to sell in China without having a Chinese entity.

We Chat is a great way to advertise your products or services. For now, however, the best and probably only smart bet for selling directly to China without having an entity here is to open a TMall Global account. Just ask Costco:).

Your customers (past, present, future) don't browse Tmall unless you send them there. All of them are on Wechat.