Jay Chou’s 31SMS is One Big Confusing WhatsApp Clone

So today’s big news is Taiwanese celebrity Jay Chou’s investment on 31SMS, a WhatsApp clone in Taiwan. After Steven wrote that the Android app was less-than-stellar, so I decided to give it a deeper review on my iPhone.

My conclusion is… it really sucks and very badly. In brief, 31SMS is one big confusing WhatsApp clone as it attempts to squeeze in too many features into a single mobile app.

Messaging Works Fine

At the very least, 31SMS’ messaging works fine. It allows you to send photos, videos, audio, contacts and location. It is pretty much similar to WhatsApp. The user experience isn’t very good though. While you’re happily chatting, an ad hovers to remind you to catch the latest news. Click on it and you will be taken to 31SMS’ news portal/channel. I don’t think users want that. It’s disrupting the user experience.

News?!

So besides messaging. 31SMS provides users with a news channel which includes trashy Chinese celebrity news and Christian related articles (dear god…). The only useful channel is Studio Classroom, which teaches folks how to speak better English. Studio Classroom looks helpful but it would still be better off if it were to be a standalone mobile app.

One of the celebrity/music news channels is JVR, which includes a list of Chinese singers. The top listed celebrity is none other than Jay Chou himself, with his channel including his pictures, videos, and songs. One of the videos features Jay Chou cutting another guy’s hair. I’m not sure how that’s relevant to messaging but 31SMS seems happy to have all sort of celebrity content mashed up together.

WhatsApp Rules Taiwan

Most of my friends in Taiwan are using WhatsApp, thanks to its early head start. And judging by the 31SMS’ messy integration, I don’t see how the app can win out. 31SMS target audience seems to be folks on Android and iPhone who like reading Chinese celebrity news and Christian-related articles. That sounds really absurd.

Perhaps what 31SMS can do is to focus on the Chinese market. That’s one of the competitive advantages it has over WhatsApp. It should understand Taiwan better than the folks at WhatsApp.