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Chat in the absence of coverage

A messaging app developed by a start-up allows iPhone users communicate with each other in chat mode without having to depend on the Internet.

The app Firechat enables establishing connectivity with other users in an “offline” or “off-the-grid” mode thereby making the connect simple and seamless.

FireChat app uses the concept of mesh networking, a topology wherein each node of the mesh transmits information to other nodes in the network cluster thus making all the nodes work in a collaborative manner. So, as in conventional apps wherein there is a need to connect to a central server, FireChat works in a peer-to-peer mode and stealthily connects to a phone in a 100-feet radius using Bluetooth and WiFi.

FireChat uses multi-peer connectivity, a new feature Apple introduced in the latest version 7 of the iOS. Any i-user who has the app installed connects automatically with nearby chat rooms and can exchange messages with others without having to depend on the service provider.

The application of FireChat is aplenty — be it at a game, in cinema halls, supermarket, or at airports. As long as other users have it installed, the messages will simply hop from one device to another. The only disadvantages of such networks being that anyone “listening in” stealthily can get access to the message traffic by just being in the immediate vicinity.

The app FireChat gained a sudden spike in downloads during the Hong Kong demonstrations wherein about 100,000 people were supposed to have downloaded it in a day. The app was widely used by the pro-democracy movement supporters fearing a possible black-out of networks by the government.

prashant.vadgaonkar@hotmail.com

• UAE