Sonnet will turn your phone into off-grid lifesaver

Ah, the great outdoors – a place to lose yourself, and then realise how pathetically reliant you are on mobile signals. But don’t worry, you won’t have to befriend a pack of macaques just yet. That’s because you were sensible and bought the Sonnet, an off-grid hexagon that connects to your phone and gives it the ability to send messages or read maps without any cellular or satellite signals. Like a walkie-talkie for your phone, it has global offline maps, a panic button for sending an SOS signal, and a 4000mAh battery for topping your phone’s dangerously low charge. Just don’t leave it tantalisingly out of reach before getting your arm trapped under a rock.

Mark Wilson Features editor

About

Mark's first review for Stuff was the Nokia N-Gage in 2004. Luckily, his career lasted a little longer than the taco phone, and he's been trying to figure out how gadgets fit back into their boxes ever since. While his 'Extreme Mark Wilson' persona was retired following a Microsoft skydiving incident, this means he can often be spotted in the wilds of South West London testing action cams, drones and smartwatches, and occasionally cursing at them.

Areas of expertise

Smart home tech, cameras, wearables and obscure gadgets from the early 2000s.