Firechat for IPhone and Android...

[Monseratto]

Need to stay in contact w/o Internet or Cell network coverage?

Hongkongers flock to 'off-grid' chat app FireChat amid fears of internet shutdown | South China Morning Post

Hongkongers flock to 'off-grid' chat app FireChat amid fears of internet shutdown
PUBLISHED : Monday, 29 September, 2014, 11:14am
UPDATED : Monday, 29 September, 2014, 12:20pm
Patrick Boehler

A mobile messaging application enabling users to communicate without internet access has seen large numbers of new sign-ups from Hong Kong as pro-democracy demonstrators in the territory scrambled for alternative means of communication amid the weekend’s protests.

Some 100,000 people have downloaded the application FireChat for smartphones over the last 24 hours in Hong Kong, according to Open Garden, the company that developed the communications tool which operates without an Internet connection or mobile phone coverage.

“We started seeing a small increase on Saturday, and then the numbers just boomed on Sunday,” said Micha A. Benoliel, the company’s co-founder and CEO. “It’s huge. We didn’t have that many users before.”

Up to 33,000 people used the application at the same time in Hong Kong, Benoliel said, referring to the 24 hours period between Sunday morning and Monday morning Hong Kong time.

Hong Kong protest organisers called on participants to download the application on Sunday, when rumours circulated that the city’s government would shut down cellphone networks in Admiralty.

While the cellular networks were not deactivated in Hong Kong on Sunday, some protesters reported bad cellphone reception.

FireChat, launched only in March this year, allows smartphone users to communicate via Bluetooth or WiFi, an alternative to cellphone networks. Its chat-rooms, dubbed “firechats”, allow users to communicate without exchanging data with traditional cellular networks. These live and anonymous discussion groups can gather as many as 10,000 people simultaneously, according to Open Garden.

Benoliel declined to reveal the application’s total number of users.

Groups in support of Hong Kong’s protests in Australia, Canada, the US and the UK have also turned to FireChat to communicate on the protests, Benoliel said.

[_Cathy_]

Oh, so you have to stay within bluetooth range to chat? I thought it was like Viber without needing an internet connection

[badkuk]

sabi sa ibang article, Firechat uses Wifi and Bluetooth networks. Haven't played around with it much, but it seems to be localized -- although potentially, if there are enough overlapping networks, it could get into the internet eventually.

[Walter]

Viber needs internet connection. HK protesters won't use WeChat there since it's being monitored by Chinese government.

[chronicle]

So if they are in blutooth or wifi range, why wont they just talk directly with each other?

Posted via Tsikot Mobile App

[badkuk]

So if they are in blutooth or wifi range, why wont they just talk directly with each other?

Posted via Tsikot Mobile App

Quoted from this article: https://www.tsikot.com/forums/FireChat: What is it and how does it work

"FireChat is designed to work using wireless mesh networking, where a string of devices connect to each other using nodes, which do not require the internet to function. The application uses bluetooth and has a range of 70 metres, but users can use other mobiles as stepping stones, creating a web of contacts spanning much larger distances."


dunno if i understanding is correct, but if you have enough overlapping Wifi or bluetooth networks, you can potentially cover a wider area.

Eto yung analogy ko: Imagine you're caught in a sudden thunderstorm without an umbrella(how timely); then imagine a lot of people on the streets with umbrellas. If there are enough umbrellas overlapping each other, you can go underneath each one until you reach your destination without getting wet. Parang ganun ata?

Problem is, technology cuts both ways; it can be used to organize pro-democracy protests, the same way it can be used to coordinate a terrorist attack.

[_Qwerty_]

diba yung Blackberry Chat hindi din kailangan nang Data?

meron ding same application yata yung ABS mobile yung commercial ni DJ Padilla.. unli chat w/o mobile data or wifi..