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GoTenna Links Phones When Network Disappears

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walkie talkie

Zpike

Jul 18, 2014, 1:30 PM
So, it basically makes your phone into a walkie talkie. Except, at the $150 price point you can find really nice walkie talkies with a 50 mile range, that are ruggedized, submersible, and all around more useful for their stated target market - campers and hikers.

If this was $30 I could see the practicality of it. But at $150 (discount price), or even worse $300 (full price) I don't see this being successful with anyone outside of your clueless iPhone user.
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Rich Brome

Jul 18, 2014, 2:36 PM
Yes and no.

For a lot of scenarios, this might be better.

It might be difficult to hear a walkie-talkie at a concert or certain festivals. Or out in a park, you might prefer not to disturb the peace and quiet of nature. If I were visiting a majestic forest or canyon and some guy nearby was using a walkie-talkie, I'd find that quite obnoxious.

Also, most people carry their phones on them no matter what. So if I have a choice between also carrying a bulky walkie-talkie, or carrying this slim thing, I'd rather carry this.

Finally, this can send your location to someone else if you're lost, and show it on a map. Walkie talkies can't do that.

Some people might prefer the walkie-talkie, and that's fine. But personally, I'd rather h...
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Zpike

Jul 22, 2014, 1:06 PM
>>It might be difficult to hear a walkie-talkie at a concert or certain festivals.

What advantage do cell phones enjoy over walkie talkies in this scenario?

>>If I were visiting a majestic forest or canyon and some guy nearby was using a walkie-talkie, I'd find that quite obnoxious.

I'd find it equally obnoxious to hear some jerk blabbing on his cellphone in the same scenario.

>>So if I have a choice between also carrying a bulky walkie-talkie, or carrying this slim thing, I'd rather carry this.

Personally, I would prefer to be best prepared for my particular scenario. Walkie talkies enjoy a substantially longer battery life than smart phones. So, what would you do on a camping trip in some remote area after your phone battery...
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Rich Brome

Jul 22, 2014, 1:26 PM
Did you read the article? GoTenna is for texting on your phone, not talking.
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Zpike

Jul 23, 2014, 11:08 AM
Good walkie talkies can text.
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Tofuchong

Jul 18, 2014, 3:09 PM
I completely agree 100%, however a walkie talkie can't send text messages. I realize that you can easily press a button and speak your message into it, but people are obsessed with their phones these days. I love walkie talkies, a family member of mine has a huge collection of very very powerfull ones, he even has one that routes through an 8 foot antenna on his car that is so powerful we can pick up broadcasts in Australia while we in Canada, they are "cool". For the cost $150.00 or $300.00, it seems high, but this is new, it looks well made, it's water resistant.... it seems kind of gimmicky to me, but it has a practical application. PLUS (this is a guess) since your text messages aren't going over the cellular network there is no record ...
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timepilot84

Jul 20, 2014, 1:15 PM
The "50 mile range" is pure BS. Look at the tool that they provide. The quoted 50 mile range is only if you have the device 500 feet in the air. If you move the slider to where you'd realistically use the device (4-5 feet off of the ground) the range drops to a more realistic 3.5 mile theoretically. With real world conditions you're looking at probably a 1.5-2 mile range,.

The device is a 2 Watt transmitter. I wouldn't expect much more range than that with an omnidirectional antenna.

A good GMRS radio handset would be far more worth it than this $300 pair of radios.
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Zpike

Jul 22, 2014, 12:38 PM
>>. The quoted 50 mile range is only if you have the device 500 feet in the air. If you move the slider to where you'd realistically use the device (4-5 feet off of the ground) the range drops to a more realistic 3.5 mile theoretically.

Wait, are you talking about the walkie talkie or the GoTenna. Because I'm pretty certain that quality walkie talkies really do have a 50 mile radius, though I'm admittedly no expert.
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timepilot84

Jul 23, 2014, 11:45 AM
No, walkie talkies only get that kind of range if they too are 500 feet in the air.

The realistic range of FRS radios is 0.5 to 1.5 miles. For GMRS radios it depends on the power of the transmitter. A lot of the GMRS radios commercially available have 2 watt transmitters, giving them range of nearly identical to this goTenna thing.The difference being the GMRS radios are all compatible with one another and a goTenna only works with other goTennas.
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