One thing that Apple fans tend to bring out during the enormous Android vs iPhone flame wars is apps. While both systems have a huge number of applications, people often claim that those on iOS are either better or cover a broader range. We won’t even pretend to have an opinion on whether or not this is true, but it looks like Android may have Apple beat in at least one area! Though we’re not so sure Google will be proud of this accomplishment.
It looks like there might be an Android app in China that you can use to find some tough guys to rough people up for you!
According to Want China Times, the app Didi Daren, which could be translated as “Honk Honk Hail a Person”, started as a way to ride the coattails of another popular app, Didi Dache, or “Honk Honk Hail a Cab” and is similar to Uber. Didi Daren, which, if the characters were taken literally, could apparently refer to beating someone up, was originally intended to be a way for people who need help to find others with the necessary skills locally. Sort of like an app for the job section on Craigslist.
However, one Chinese newspaper, Yunnan, says that they were able to get in contact with a “thug” who offered beating people up as his skill. Located in Shanghai, the man offered to do jobs for 200 to 500 yuan (about $32 to $80) each.
The company that developed the app, Changsha Zhang Kong Information Technology Limited, insists that they are not responsible for anything their users might do and apparently has a rule for employees to delete any such postings they find. And it’s not clear if anyone has actually used the app to arrange a beating, though it had apparently been downloaded 200,000 times before being removed from the store.
Changsha Zhang Kong Technology Limited, which is also apparently know as Joke, has decided to redo the app. In the new version they plan to release in a few weeks the app will have “secretaries” for future transactions. Probably a good way to make sure nothing nefarious happens!
The app started as a joke, obviously, and it seems to have inspired a TV show to make this fake advertisement skit. It depicts a nurse, a little girl, and a young man using the application to find tough guys to beat up harassers. Also, golden fighting monks who have somehow acquired Captain America’s shield…
Though Joke is redesigning the app to ensure people can’t pay to have others beaten up, this might not be a bad idea for all tech start-ups struggling to monetize. Tinder just started using ads…maybe it’s time to swipe right to hire some tough guys!
Sources: NY Times, Changsha Zhang Kong Information Technology Limited (h/t Shanghaiist)
Top image: Wikipedia (Google) edited by RocketNews24
Insert image: Want China Times
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