Quick guide... to Chirping

What is it?

Chirp is a new mobile phone app that lets you share data between devices. It works by one phone ‘singing’ to the other – producing a unique digital sound, like an audible barcode, that the other phone picks up and uses to retrieve data. The sound is a bit like a digital bird, hence the name.

How does it work?

It’s basically a new way of sharing a link to information stored on a cloud drive. You could email or text it, or create a QR code for it; or, now, Chirp it.

Why would I use it?

You might use it any time you wanted to share something with someone – a spreadsheet with your boss, for example, or some holiday photos with friends and family. You would both need to have the app on your iPhone, of course, and the phones would need to be within Chirping distance of one another.

Right next to each other?

Yes, that seems to be the case. One needs to be able to ‘hear’ the other, so presumably it would work down the phone as well.

My mobile phone?

No, we meant a normal phone - a landline. You could Chirp a link through the phone by holding your iPhones up at either end, letting them talk to each other.

Or I could just email them a link.

Yes, you could do that. It might be easier in the long run.

Date: 07/08/2012