BRCK - Claims To Be Internet Backup Generator

KickStarter Friday - BRCK, Internet connection when it is missing.

There are times for all of us when you are not able to get a connection to the Internet. Whether it be because there is no WiFi available or your actual connection to the web is just down, it has happened to each of us at one time or another. Now, think about being in the wilderness where there are no connections available. You could use a device from you mobile carrier which lets you make a connection over 3G. But, what if you did not have any power as well to make that connection. The BRCK claims to provide all of that for you in a compact package.

This week's KickStarter project is the BRCK which is your backup generator for the internet. Now that is a big claim and is sure to get your attention. It looks like the shape of a brick and probably explains the name. And, it claims to contain both a power source and modem so that you can make a connection no matter where you are. The company, Ushadi, has developed a number of open source items to share information.

But, back to the BRCK. The BRCK is an interesting idea and since the people behind it are pretty much located in Africa, it provides the perfect setting to develop and test the idea of giving you a self contained unit to connect to the web. The BRCK contains power for times when there is none, contains a modem to do dial up connections and it acts as a WiFi device to share the connection. Some of the specifics include an Ethernet connection, WiFi b/g/n, 3G HSPA+ modem, USB 2.0, microUSB charging port and a 4,000 mAh battery. These are just a few of the items in the list and everything is potentially subject to change as their move towards providing the BRCK to the public.


The current claims for the BRCK is that the battery in this will provide 8 hours of power when being actively being used. And considering all the items contained in this, the name may also provide an indication of the weight to go along with this. This looks to be a mini computer with everything in it along with 10 expansion slots they are planning to include. The BRCK is going to be a great product in countries where there is not reliable power or Internet connections. Think about the disasters we have here in the US and just how valuable this kind of a product would be.

The BRCK still has 18 days to go as they close in on their project goal of $125,000. And you can help them meet that goal and get a BRCK for yourself. They are running out of the lower end pledges to get your own device. $150 is gone and the $200 level is close to being gone with a delivery of November this year. The amount of $200 will get the 2nd version of the BRCK which would come out in May of 2014. If you must have one in November, then you will need to pledge $300 or more.

This is a great idea and looks like they are going to be successful. If you find the BRCK to be a worthwhile endeavor, head on over and pledge funds to help them exceed their goal.