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The Iridium phones are pretty big--think landline cordless phone handset--and often have an extensible antenna. Given the mania for thinner and thinner phones,
by mattkrause 10y ago
The Iridium phones are pretty big--think landline cordless phone handset--and often have an extensible antenna. Given the mania for thinner and thinner phones, this probably isn't going to fly.
The network access is also expensive--think $50+ per month, with a handful (literally, like...10) of text messages and voice minutes included, with ~$1 per extra minute/message. If you live and work in somewhere with a modicum of infrastructure, this also probably isn't worth it.
(FWIW: I think part of their initial pitch was to Important Executives who need to be in touch with the office 24/7, but that seems to have fallen by the wayside and it's increasingly targeted at people going/living/working in remote areas).
- dboreham 10y agoSat phones are quite common where I live in Montana (you only have to drive 10 miles out of town to lose cell reception). The geosynchronous Inmarsat service is typically better/cheaper than Iridium today. I pay around $35/mo for more call time and SMS than I need to use. The phones are reasonably small but very old-school (like a 2000-vintage GSM handset). Because it uses satellites over the equator you need a southern aspect to connect. Folks rock climbing up north-facing cliffs or sailing north of 70 degrees need Iridium :)
- mattkrause 10y agoInteresting! We looked at Inmarsat and Globalstar when we were in Alaska, but we were at the very edge of their coverage area and it didn't seem worth it to have a potentially-flakey phone for emergencies. I gather it's gotten a lot better since then, though.