I don’t care much for phone calls because I can easily communicate with several different people simultaneously via apps like Kik, HeyTell and Facebook Messenger. Additionally, I am a slave to messaging apps and iMessage. While this connectivity is great, without a data signal from my cellular provider or a decent wireless connection, I may as well be drawing on a cave wall.

Enter FireChat. Open Garden, the developers of FireChat, have put together an app that allows users to send and receive messages from their smartphones. Where FireChat sets itself apart from other messaging apps is that, unlike instant messaging apps, FireChat allows users to communicate without a data signal or a wifi connection. FireChat users stay connected using the BlueTooth and wireless technology contained in Android devices and iPhones.

The app has two functional tabs: Everyone and Nearby. Through the Everyone tab, users are connected instantly to everyone on the planet that is using FireChat. The ‘Nearby’ tab, however, works much more like most messaging apps, allowing the user to connect with local users and send words as well as images. There is no private chat in FireChat, so while it’s a great way to connect to local users, it’s probably not the ideal app for firing off your latest round of crotch selfies.

Overall, I really love what FireChat strives for: a real time connection to anyone with a smartphone. It is worth noting that FireChat currently does not allow connectivity between Android users and iPhone users. Also, pictures can only be sent and received while in the ‘Nearby’ tab, and users cannot access messages sent before logging in. And, if you find yourself in the ‘Everyone’ tab, it will quickly become clear that most users still are unsure of what it is, exactly, that they should be doing with this app. The same could be said of Twitter a few years back, so patience is a virtue for FireChat users.

FireChat may really open doors for people on a tight budget given that it does not require a data connection and ultimately may pave the way for very inexpensive communication devices in the future. But for all of the things FireChat isn’t at this moment, I like FireChat for what it very easily could be: an incredibly well thought out messaging app that works everywhere.

★★★★☆

mmacdona@mavs.coloradomesa.edu