37signals buys Ember for iPhone

Web-based collaboration app developer 37signals has announced the purchase of the iPhone app Ember from developer Overcommitted. Ember was a native iPhone application for 37signals’ web-based conference app, Campfire that allows users to participate in chats, view transcripts, jump between chat rooms and share pictures in a Campfire chat. 37signals founder Jason Fried writes on the company’s blog that they considered Ember to be an excellent native iPhone app for Campfire and started discussions with Overcommitted earlier this year about buying the application. After reaching a deal and making a few changes to the app, 37signals has resubmitted it to the App Store as the official Campfire app for the iPhone. Although Ember sold for $10 as a third-party app, 37signals has released the new version as a free download; a Campfire account is required to use the app, however free Campfire accounts are supported. The 37signals Campfire app provides support for multiple accounts, unlimited chat rooms, live image previews, inline viewing of popular document formats, access to chat transcripts and the ability to upload photos. Users can also see the participants in a room, view and set the topic for a room and set preferences for message notifications on a room-by-room basis. 37signals Campfire is available from the App Store as a free download. [via TechCrunch]