As you should know, there is only one reliable satellite communication system in the world that covers 100% of the earth: Iridium. Anything else, (Globalstar, Inmarsat, etc…) just suck monkey balls, with large areas without coverage and major reliability issues.
Satellite phones, however, never really were that useful for common use: Acquisition cost was prohibitive, and so was talk time, and battery limitations made them rather unsuitable for self-propelled expeditions. Iridium Go provided some data, but at 2,400 bps was pretty useless. A few years ago, Garmin launched InReach. A step in the right direction, but still bulky, and complicated to use (good luck pairing a device to it). Their latest addition, InReach mini, resolves the bulk, but doesn’t address ease of use or battery life.
Then came Zoleo. At 90.9 x 66.0 x 26.9 mm (3.58 x 2.6 x 1.06 in) and 150 g (5.3 oz), it can be carried with you anywhere. It is also dust and water-resistant (to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) for 30 min), and shock-resistant as well (MIL-STD 810G). It charges in only two hours, with a battery life of … 200 hours! Zoleo has similar features to InReach, including the SOS button. The best part, though, is that it connects with your existing device/cell phone, so you can send and receive text messages and short emails directly from your device (and it is actually easy and idiot-proof). Better yet, it will first try to send and check messages with cellular or wifi network before it goes onto the Iridium satellite network, thereby saving you money. You get your own dedicated email as well as telephone number for text messages. As for plans, they start at $25 per month, which is pretty affordable. Optional accessories include a vehicle mount, so you can stay in touch even when off road or in the middle of nowhere (let’s all remember that while the Nordics have cell coverage pretty much everywhere, it is not the case in Svalbard as well as most of Alaska and Northern Canada).
Overall, a game changer.
