微信“小程序”將于1月9日上線

WeChat, a popular instant messaging tool run by Tencent Holdings, aims to help users access mobile services without downloading separate apps, which experts said may challenge the business of smartphone app distributors such as Apple Store.

由騰訊控股運營的流行的即時通訊工具微信，旨在幫助用戶獲得移動服務，而無需另外下載應用程序，專家表示，這可能對智能手機應用程序分銷商構成挑戰(zhàn)，如Apple Store的業(yè)務。

This new feature, dubbed "Xiaochengxu" (Little Program), allows WeChat users to find a variety of services such as ticket buying by scanning a quick-response code, saving them the trouble of installing a number of different apps on smart devices, according to the transcript of a speech by Zhang Xiaolong, Tencent’s senior executive vice president, on Wednesday. The new function is expected to come online on January 9.

據(jù)騰訊高級執(zhí)行副總裁張小龍上周三的演講，這一新功能名為“小程序”(Little Program)，它允許微信用戶通過掃碼來查找各種服務，例如購票，從而省去在智能設備上安裝多個不同應用程序的麻煩。新功能預計將于1月9日上線。

Zhang, known as the father of WeChat, emphasized that Little Program is not a mobile app distributing function.

張小龍，也被稱為微信之父，他強調小程序不是一個移動應用程序的分發(fā)功能。

Still, experts and app developers said that the rollout of Little Program on WeChat will erode the market share of app distributors like Apple Store in China.

不過，專家和應用程序開發(fā)人員表示，小程序在微信上的推出將削弱蘋果商店在中國應用程序分銷商的市場份額。

"Little Program will attract lots of start-ups, because a program based on WeChat can help them build up businesses at much lower costs," a Shanghai-based app developer, told the Global Times Wednesday.

上海的一位應用開發(fā)商周三對《全球時報》表示，“小程序將吸引大量新創(chuàng)公司，因為基于微信的項目可以幫助他們以更低的成本來建立業(yè)務。”

If a start-up wants to promote its business via a separate application, it has to hire a special team to develop two different apps - one each for iOS and Android.

如果一個新創(chuàng)公司希望通過一個單獨的應用程序來推廣其業(yè)務，就必須雇傭一個特殊的團隊開發(fā)兩個不同的應用程序——一個iOS版，一個Android版。

Launched in 2011, WeChat has evolved to include services such as car-hailing, food deliveries, e-commerce and utility payments from just an instant messaging app.

于2011年推出的微信已經(jīng)發(fā)展為集網(wǎng)約車、食品交付、電子商務和公用事業(yè)支付等功能于一體的即時通訊應用程序。