New FireChat App Takes Mobile Chatting ‘Off The Grid’
This week, MMW was privy to a sneak peek at a groundbreaking new app from Open Garden, a San Francisco-based startup with an appetite for innovation.
The group’s newest offering is an app called FireChat.
Free and formally launching today, the app lets users chat with people around them, on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. But here’s the kicker. It works even when the Internet is not available.
FireChat takes advantage of the Multipeer Connectivity Framework in iOS 7 to give people the ability to chat with those around them despite a lack of Internet connection.
FireChat demonstrates what’s possible over peer-to-peer networks. Whether you’re on the subway, watching a big game, at the beach, or at recess, you can now fire up FireChat with a friend or two, find out who else is around and start chatting and sharing pictures.
“We may think that we depend on the Internet for everything. FireChat proves that it’s not always the case,” said Micha Benoliel, Open Garden’s CEO. “People ask me: how does this work without an Internet connection? Thanks to the Multipeer Connectivity Framework introduced in iOS 7, we are now able to deliver a best-in-class peer-to-peer chat experience to anyone with an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.”
To learn more about the new app or OpenGarden, click here.
