goTenna keeps you connected even when there’s no Wif-Fi or cell signal

Anyone who sends texts (so, that’s pretty much everyone) knows that sending messages in big crowds or remote places is often a lot easier said than done. A new startup aims to fix this problem with goTenna, a device that will allow people to send text messages without a Wi-Fi or cell signal. The device relies on low-energy Bluetooth signals and a companion app to relay messages between people who have a goTenna paired to their smartphones. It will allow users, who would be otherwise unable to communicate via phone, to send and receive messages from friends from up to 50 miles away. Daniela Perdomo, CEO of the Brooklyn-based goTenna, says the idea for the device came during Hurricane Sandy, when downed cell towers hampered communication. But she says goTenna has applications well beyond disasters and emergencies, such as traveling abroad or trying to text friends during musical festivals. “There’s a lot of different use cases for off-grid communication,” Perdomo told Mashable. “This is all very directed … It can be as configurable as all the smartphone messaging apps that you’re used to. We’re leveraging the phone you already have on you, the behavior you already use for everything else but giving you the ability communicate when you otherwise can’t.”