SPOTConnect
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SPOT Connect helps your iPhone rescue you via satellite
Cellphones are pretty good for calling 911, or letting your family know where you are, but if you get in trouble off the grid things can go wrong in a hurry. Coverage is far from universal, especially in rural or wilderness areas. The folks at SPOT, a satellite service company, have a handy solution that lets your iPhone connect to a global satellite network through the SPOT hardware. Along with a dedicated app, the SPOT Connect transmitter can get your distress message out, along with your exact location anywhere in the world. Similar to the standalone SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger and the SPOT Personal Tracker (both of which work without a phone, but offer a more limited set of message options) the hardware is a small device with a GPS receiver and a satellite transmitter. The SPOT Connect pairs with your iPhone via Bluetooth; you run the SPOT app, and your iPhone suddenly becomes a satellite communicator. The service is not built for voice, but you can update Twitter or Facebook, send short email messages or text messages (41 characters long for free input, up to 120 characters if you pre-program them), update a plot of your travels on the SPOT website for family & friends, or send your coordinates out to the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center to get help on the way. This seems perfect for sailors, hikers, pilots or people exploring places where cell networks are unreliable or don't exist at all. The device is available direct from SPOT, or at a variety of retailers like Best Buy, REI and West Marine. It lists for US $149.95, and there is a mail-in $50.00 rebate available now. The needed app is free. You'll also need a subscription that gets you the satellite time ($99.00 a year). There are some extra fees for extended services. This can literally be a lifesaver if you find yourself in the wilds, and it's a clever integration of iPhone hardware and satellite technology. %Gallery-162204%
Spot Connect brings GPS tracking and communication to your Bluetooth phone
Like it or not, we're stuck in a world fascinated with convergence, and while Spot's Satellite GPS Messenger did its job well, it still required users to tote around a dedicated, non-integrated, standalone device. Unfortunately, we're still no closer to seeing a mainstream smartphone with a legitimate GPS module within, but Spot's edging ever closer with the Spot Connect. This GPS puck is equipped with a Bluetooth transceiver, enabling it to "sync with smartphone operating systems like Android" when you're too deep in the brush to nab a cellular signal. From there, it'll allow your smartphone to determine location via the Globalstar satellite network, and even transmit that information to personal contacts or an international emergency response center. Users can send location-based texts or emails via satellite, update social networks from remote locations, track progress on Google Maps / My Tracks and store up to ten predefined messages for quick referencing and sending. Just imagine the Foursquare check-ins you could manage with this bad boy! The puck itself is waterproof to an IPX7 standard and weighs just 3.7 ounces, and we're told that more mobile operating systems will be supported "later this year." The Connect will go on sale this month for $169.99, though the services described above will run argonauts $99.99 per year. Full release is after the break.
