Backed by Skype co-founder Janus Friis, Wire is a new communications service that aims to cater to the current-generation of mobile users. The app comes with a modern user interface and lets you perform voice calls, share pictures, SoundCloud tracks, YouTube videos and more.
The service syncs your messages across devices. Built with secure communications in mind, Wire states that its service comes with end-to-end encryption for all of its voice calls, and encryption to and from its data centers for other media. Wire is also compliant with "European privacy laws and regulations."
The service is currently free and is available for Android, iOS and Mac users. Wire mentions that a PC version will launch within a quarter, along with a browser-based variant built on HTML5. One of the main highlights of the service is its voice-calling feature, which delivers "crisp and clear" audio. The technology is compatible with the WebRTC standard, which means that you won't need to install an additional plugin to undertake audio calls from your browser.
To know more about the underlying technology Wire uses, refer the press release below:
Simple, beautiful conversations on your phone, tablet and desktop
Switzerland - A team of more than 50 people from 23 countries, supported by Skype co-founder Janus Friis, is launching Wire, a communications network for messaging, voice calling, sharing pictures, music and video on your phone, tablet and desktop.
"Skype was launched more than a decade ago. A lot has changed since then - we are all used to free calls and texting, and we have taken to carrying our computers in our pockets," said Friis. "It is time to create the best possible communication tools, as beautiful as they are useful. Wire is just that."
Wire is available on iOS, Android and OS X. It offers communications with an emphasis on high fidelity paired with elegant design. People can use Wire for personal and group messaging, voice calling, sharing pictures, SoundCloud music and YouTube video sharing. Wire conversations are kept in sync across all your devices. It is engineered to take advantage of today's devices, including iPhone 6, iPads and the latest Android devices.
With deep expertise in media processing technology, Wire's voice calling benefits from its in-house developed audio technology. This makes calls on Wire sound crisp and clear. By remaining compatible with standard WebRTC, Wire will support audio calls to and from WebRTC compatible browsers.
"We asked ourselves how modern communications could look and work. How could we take full advantage of the latest devices and advances in cloud computing to deliver something that is really simple, very useful and truly beautiful?" said Jonathan Christensen, Wire's co-founder and CEO. "Today's launch is the beginning for Wire."
The company's team comprises former product and technology leaders from Apple, Skype, Nokia, and Microsoft. Christensen held leadership roles at Microsoft and Skype, and was co-founder and CEO at Camino Networks. Along with Christensen, founders include Alan Duric, Wire's CTO, a co-founder of Telio (Oslo exchange TELIO) and co-founder of Camino (acquired by eBay/Skype); and Priidu Zilmer, Wire's head of product design, who led design teams at Vdio and Skype. Wire's Chief Scientist Koen Vos, created SILK and co-created Opus, the standards for fidelity and intelligibility in voice over IP that billions of people use today.
