14 DAY TRIAL // Carriers and telecommunication companies have been adding satellites to Earth's orbit for decades, and relays to mountaintops for even longer, so there is a decent coverage for cellular phones. However, there are still plenty of areas where you don't get any signal.
This can be anything from annoying to life-threatening, especially if you get lost in a jungle or forest for whatever reason.
Now, a company called goTenna has decided to make it possible to contact help even if you don't get any signal on your (smart)phone. The solution comes in the shape of a small, stick-like, low-frequency radio.
The radio cannot transmit voice calls, but it can send text messages and even your GPS coordinates if you have them. You don't even need to be disconnected for goTenna to be useful. An iOS or Android app lets you text other goTenna users in case you can't find them in a crowd, for example, which might work faster than normal cell service when you're in a crowd of thousands.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a serious limitation: you can perform all this sharing of information only with other goTenna users.
The goTenna radio has a price of $150 / €110, but only as a limited offer until $50,000 / €37,000 are raised for funding. Then it will be $300 / €221.