I still don't understand how it works. This is just about the Tin Can functionality, but I don't get how it works underneath, mechanically. How are messages sent? It says WiFi on Kickstarter, but isn't that using the Internet...?
It uses wifi to exchange messages between phones. Although wifi is often synonymous with internet access, we refer to the radio-based networking technology, often used for internet access. So all smart phones have this ability to exchange data over wifi. Instead of doing so with a router, Tin-Can lets them do it with each other. Messages are sent from one phone to another in a lump. Your Tin-Can sends me the messages it is carrying, and mine sends you the messages that it is carrying. So imagine you send a message out: You and I cross paths, and it hops to my phone, from mine, it hops to two others, from theirs, maybe 5 more, then 9 more, all the while anyone that that subscribes to mhr will be notified that a message from you arrived. Hope that helps!