article_snippet.sent: Its FireChat app paved the way for chatting to friends without the need for the web or even a mobile signal.
article_snippet.sent: FireChat launched last year and has been downloaded more than five million times.
article_snippet.sent: FireChat takes advantage of a feature that launched in Apple’s iOS 7 called Multipeer Connectivity Framework (MCF). 
article_snippet.sent: When a user opens the FireChat app, they pick a screen name to start sending messages.
article_snippet.sent: Within the FireChat app there are 'chatrooms' with 'Everyone' and 'Nearby' options.
article_snippet.sent: the FireChat app creates a localised network in which each phone becomes a node, and the data is passed between nodes.
article_snippet.sent: In FireChat (left) there are 'chatrooms' called Everyone and Nearby.
article_snippet.sent: FireChat (pictured) has been downloaded more than five million times and is particularly useful when on a plane, or the underground .
article_snippet.sent: Messages sit on Greenstone until another FireChat comes within range, and the device has a one-year battery life.
article_snippet.sent: the device can additionally hold up to 1,000 of the most recent messages.