goTenna for IOS and Android

goTenna, a new device which has been released on pre-sale, can reportedly turn your phone into a ‘walkie talkie’ when there is no phone coverage.

The new gadget for iOS and Android phones uses radio waves to communicate over 50 miles pairing the phones using Bluetooth, if both people have the device.

The idea came to Brooklyn brother and sister team Daniela and Jorge Perdomo during Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and New York.

Daniela Perdomo told Wired: “I was thinking, ‘Is there any way to make cell phones communicate, so even in the worst case scenario, like Sandy, when you have no power or Wi-Fi you can still communicate? The only thing that does that is Bluetooth, and for that, you have to be within 20 feet, so you might as well just speak loudly.”

With goTenna, you can send messages and send maps showing their location to anyone within range of you who also has the device, which the firm says is key during an emergency.

‘When you need to reach someone around you, simply send a ‘shout’ to another goTenna user,’ it says.

Messages sent to another person who is offline are saved by the radios (either at the sending or receiving end, depending) until the receiver views the message. The goTenna app has automatic message retry and will let you know when your message has been delivered to the intended recipient just like on Apple’s iMessage.

It will last for 72 hours on a full charge.

About the size of a small flashlight with a long antenna, goTenna is being touted as a new must-have for outdoorsy types, hikers, emergency responders, families or festival goers. It is waterproof, and the battery can last for about three days on a full charge and has a standby time of 150 days.