Phones and SmartPhones are social devices by nature; we can talk, text, email, browse the web, run applications and access our favorite social networks.
Even though SmartPhones are more capable every day the technology world has a fixation on “cloud” and “cloud based social networking”, it’s almost as if we’re forgetting how powerful computers (and now SmartPhones) can be used to truly enhance the way we interact with the people around us.
Sharing files can be an issue
For example, record a video from your phone video camera and try sending it to people next to you, if it’s more than a minute long you won’t be able to send it via email because it’s too large. You’ll be forced to upload it to the web — or deal with the nuances and shortcomings of Bluetooth, which is slow and cumbersome to set up. Now imagine sending that same video to 6 other people in the room.
If social interaction can happen directly between two or more people that’s the way it should be: phone to phone. Your messages and data should never have to travel all over the internet if they need to end in another device in the same room.
When you want to share files with the people near you, you shouldn’t need cables. You shouldn’t even need an internet connection. We think Wi-Fi connectivity and FrostWire is all you should ever need on your phone.
FrostWire for Android allows multiple Android users connected to a Wi-Fi network to Chat and Share Files at very high speeds in a peer to peer fashion, no third parties involved
With FrostWire for Android you’ll now be able to do things you could not do before:
Schools
Teachers and students can chat and share class related material like documents, notes and rich media. Teachers are always looking for ways to engage with students and FrostWire will be a great opportunity to connect to your class.
Conferences
Speakers will now be able to deliver presentation slides and related material straight from their Android device to all the attendees, who can in turn help seed the content.
Bars, Cafes, Libraries, Public Squares, Movie Theathers, Airports
Break the ice and meet new people with the Wi-Fi chat. Some of us are shy in real life but we’re very good at interacting online. Use FrostWire to find each other or to get something you need from the people connected in the same venue. Whenever you find yourself in front of an open Wi-Fi network and lots of people there’s an opportunity to use FrostWire and engage in a new social behavior, Short Range Social Networking.
Subway cars
What FrostWire for Android IS
FrostWire for Android is a Short Range Peer to Peer client. It’s purpose is to allow people in the same place to interact and share files.
It implements a new p2p protocol meant for WiFi networks and mobile devices, keeping in consideration things like battery life, packet de-congestion on the WiFi hotspot.
The name of this protocol is MetaFrost, we will release all the specifications once it’s matured enough for the Open Source community to implement compatible clients.
In our tests we’ve been able to transfer files at average data rates of up to 1.2Mb/s, the closer to the Wi-Fi hotspot you are the faster the transfer will be.
Tight integration with the desktop version is coming soon, and yes it’s free and will always be free.
What FrostWire for Android IS NOT
FrostWire for Android is not a BitTorrent or Gnutella client.
Why? Because the wireless carriers can barely deliver your emails and web pages at this point. Also because you would be breaking your wireless carrier contract if you did P2P networking on their infrastructure.
Connectivity is not very reliable on 3G/EDGE and your phone will do more harm than good to the health of the existing internet P2P networks (by just leeching intermittently) and not to mention the limitations of space and battery that we still face on mobile devices.
Alpha version available to testers TODAY
Sign up to be among the first alpha testers. The FrostWire for Android alpha installer is already being distributed to batches of hundreds of testers that meet the following criteria:
- Have one or more Android Devices (+2.0)
- See other people with Android Devices (+2.0) on a daily basis
- Can express yourself clearly
- Experience with Alpha Testing and Bug Reporting is a plus
- Understand Filesharing and Love Technology
- Love FrostWire
Mark your Turf
FrostWire for Android will be very boring if you are all by yourself. If you find an Open Wi-Fi network with lots of people to connect to it will make sense marking your territory, we think the best way to mark your territory will be with FrostWire Stickers
Changelog and Feature set
FrostWire 0.1.0 - code name "Von Neumann"
- New Feature: Peer auto discovery on the Wi-Fi network.
- New Feature: Wi-Fi network availability awareness.
- New Feature: Introducing MetaFrost Mobile P2P protocol version 1
- New Feature: Setting to send Geo-Location information to other peers.
- New Feature: Displays distance to other peers if available.
- New Feature: Settings to Share/Unshare files by file type.
- New Feature: Users can be identified by nickname.
- New Feature: Community Chatroom over Wi-Fi.
- New Feature: Sends private chatroom message to another user.
- New Feature: "Copy & Share" your own files in the Community Chatroom to all participants.
- New Feature: "Copy & Share" other user's files in the Community Chatroom to all participants.
- New Feature: "Copy & Share" files with another user via Private Message.
- New Feature: Community Chatroom has 'history' support if user presses D-pad up or down.
- New Feature: Community Chatroom has 'history' support if user gestures up or down on the text field.
- New Feature: Community Chatroom messages can be cleaned with commands "/cls","/clear" and "clear screen".
- New Feature: Browse, Filter, Open and Delete your own shared files.
- New Feature: Browse, Filter and Open other user's files.
- New Feature: Download other user's files when browsing.
- New Feature: Download shared files from chat.
- New Feature: Download multiple files at the same time.
- New Feature: Open downloaded files.
- New Feature: Context menues are available upon Long Click on almost every user interface element.
- New Feature: Screen orientation awareness on every screen.
- New Feature: FrostWire Status bar indicates number of ongoing downloads.
- New Feature: Share picture files.
- New Feature: Share video files.
- New Feature: Share document files.
- New Feature: Share audio files.
- New Feature: Connect/Disconnect from local p2p network.
- New Feature: "Love FrostWire?" Tip/Donation support to development team.
- Pending Feature: Share application files (.apk)
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Creative Commons Photo credits
“Smartphones” by shareski.
“So many gadgets on the subway these days” by arvindgrover
“FrostWire-1137” by NanyNany