Communicating In Dangerous Times

I just stumbled across this little Android communications app... Zello.
Could prove to be very useful in a pinch. I just installed it on my Samsung.

Of all the available group chat apps, Zello is credited with helping protesters across the globe organize and communicate, much as Twitter and Facebook did during the Arab Spring in 2010. Zello was the most popular app on the App Store and Google Play for several days in Ukraine before it began topping the charts in Venezuela. Reports from sources from NPR to Quartz extolled its developers' work to evade blocks put in place by Venezuela's state-run mobile service provider.

Zello works like a walkie-talkie, allowing users to broadcast voice messages to groups using their smartphone's data connection. It is used for many of the same tasks that walkie-talkies are, with a range as far as a phone’s data connection.

Launched in 2007, Zello is popular thanks to "the same qualities that have been popular with two-way radio for organizing people and events," Bill Moore, CEO of the Austin, Texas-based company, told International Business Times. "Participants don't need their hands or eyes. The information is in real time, it works with small or large groups. And voice carries much more information than text."

Zello (and it's free).

Turn your phone or tablet into a walkie talkie with this lightning fast free PTT (Push To Talk) radio app, which works between Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, and PC. Talk to your contacts privately or join public channels to engage in a hot debate.
Zello features:
• Real-time streaming, high quality voice
• Contacts availability and text status
• Public and private channels for up to 1000 users
• Option to map hardware PTT (Push To Talk) button
• Bluetooth headset support (selected phones)
• Voice history
• Call alert
• Images
• Push notifications
• Works over WiFi, 2G, 3G, or 4G mobile data
Zello uses proprietary low-latency push-to-talk protocol and is not interoperable with Voxer, Sprint Direct Connect or AT&T Enhanced PTT. Zello Android client supports free public service, Zello@Work cloud service, and private Zello Enterprise Server.