The Beartooth case is actually two handy tools in one — it’s one part 2,000mAh backup battery and one part VHF/UHF radio. Wrap the Beartooth around your handset, launch one of their apps, and you’re now connected by voice and text to anyone else with a Beartooth case within a few miles (like a walkie talkie, range will vary a bit depending on geography). In time, Beartooth intends to open up their development platform to expand its functionality
As it’s a wraparound case, it’s not available for all phones right off the bat. Instead, Beartooth is starting with the handsets with the largest potential userbase — for now, that means the iPhone 5, iPhone 5S, Galaxy S4, and Galaxy S5.
Beyond just keeping concert-goers connected, Beartooth hopes to find fans amongst rock climbers, hikers, and others who find themselves off the grid and far out of cell network range on the regular. Oh, and a little added bonus for those folks: the Beartooth adds backwards compatibility for legacy walkie-talkie frequencies to your phone, allowing you to use your smartphone as a walkie-talkie in a pinch.
Beartooth doesn’t expect to start taking orders for a few weeks, though they put a small batch of units up for pre-order just for Disrupt. The final price is as of yet undetermined, but this first batch will cost $250 per case.
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