Emergency Chat now available for Windows

Emergency Chat is now available on the Windows Store!

Emergency Chat is assistive software that helps people communicate via text when they lose their ability to speak.

Originally created for Android, I had the privilege of designing and developing a version for Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 10 (Universal Windows Platform). Currently only the Windows Phone 8.1 version is available; the Windows 10 version will be ready in early 2016 as a free update, along with the general availability of Windows 10 Mobile. The Windows Phone 8.1 version will be compatible with devices already running Windows 10 Mobile such as the Microsoft Lumia 950, Lumia 950 XL, Lumia 550, and any devices running Windows 10 Insider Preview (though, of course, preview builds are not supported).

It’s my very first Windows Store app, and by extension my first foray into the app space. Granted, being an assistive utility, this app serves a very specific niche, but it is one that is very relevant to me. I have a condition that prevents me from speaking in most situations and to most people, called selective mutism. Basically, imagine your voice being imprisoned — you want to speak, but you either can’t think of the words to say, or you can but you simply can’t verbalize them. I’m in the latter category, which means I have no trouble expressing myself by other means such as writing or typing on a device.

And that is why, with special permission from Jeroen De Busser who originally created the Android app, I’ve built this app for Windows. It’s an app that I depend on on a regular basis, and I’m thankful to have been able to build it for the platform I care about the most.