Portable military field radios have changed a lot since they were introduced during the Second World War. Like the way that mobile phones went from portable telephones to handheld personal computers, military radios that weighed in at 5 lb (2.3 kg) were filled with radio valves and crystals, were so expensive that an army unit might have only one, and had a range of about a mile (1.6 km) have become sophisticated communications hubs carried by each soldier, connecting them to commanders who might be half a world away.

Billed as the first-of-its-kind, Node is about the size of a smartphone, weighs in at about 6.8 oz (192 g), and would be easy to mistake for an external hard drive. However, it isn't the compactness that is the selling point but its capabilities.