Interestingly enough, the product appears to be entirely functional once that modal is circumvented. I'm not sure why they would direct the user to a functional product when they are ostensibly not open for public use.

I wasn't able to get by the modal box. Can't I actually browse the site without having to put in an email address? Not the best first impression. The idea seems very cool.

If you are using Chrome, Go to dev tools and delete the modal dialog part using "Edit as HTML". You will be able to navigate through the site.