Inmarsat Isatphone pro satellite phone

[ninjapuppet]

ok my satellite phone carked it and now i need a replacement.
From the limited amount of research Ive done, This new phone seems to be the top choice at the moment

Its handy when trips require choppper extraction, you can call back to the chopper and tell them you're ready to be picked up, rather than setting a pre-defined date for chopper pick up and having that set date go bonkers on you with bad weather.

I just skimmed over it's specs, and 2 claims grabbed my attention:
Apparently its got the longest battery life for talk and standby time.
it can sms you GPS coordinates, so you can relay that back to rescuers if needed. I still think any PLB signal would be stronger but on the other hand you might be able to tell rescuers EXACTLY where you are in relation to your surroundings. (took 3 hours for a chopper to find us with a GPS PLB)

Has anyone got one of these? I'd love to hear some feedback

[ninjapuppet]

I guess I'm answering my own post. Pretty sad I know.....

saw a great deal for a brand new Isatphone for $450 NEW and the guy even threw in a spare battery and case.
I saw a local shop that rents the phone out for $40/week or $160/month and at that price, why rent!?!?

I hated going on plan when you only are a weekend warrior like me and might not even use the phone for the whole year.
However with affordable prepaid plans out now, Any adventurer can now simply afford this. Last time 2 weeks in nz, my iphone racked up a $700 bill with optus at $20/MB so no more roaming for me from now on.


Prepaid costs for imnarsat are:
generally $1/minute and credits can last for 2 years depending on top up amount. Top up credits are: $30, $50, $100, $250
From now on, I can just top it up with $30 of credit each trip and thats plenty to tell relatives where i am, ask them about the weather, make them jealous. etc etc.

The best part is that its the first satphone bluetooth! If you are a facebook status update tragic like me, you can quickly connect to the satphone to iphone via bluetooth and update your facebook status and disconnect, costing you only about $2

SMS costs 50 cents each to send and free to receive and are perfect for loved ones to give you weather updates for your local areas.
imnarsat seems to got the world covered except if you're going to the ice caps north and south pole

[Miyata610]

I've been using iridium since about 2001, and some Clunky Inmarsat before then. I must say your deal sounds pretty good. Might be time to change. keep us informed about its performance please.

[TerraMer]

It is a good sat phone.
I have not used it for emergencies but I send regular text updates and GPS coordinates so my mum doesn't worry too much when I'm out of mobile range.
It is very durable and has taken a bit of a beating already.
The batteries are only very slightly effected by the cold but can take a while to recharge, understandably.
The only issue I have is the speech echo but I've always had that with my mobiles anyway so it is not too distracting.
Check when the prepaid unlimited expiry date is going to be fazed out and whether your credit will be effected. I have heard talk of the current prepaid sat phone credit going the same way as mobile prepaid and only large prepaid credit purchases will not have an expiry date. If you purchase prepaid in smaller quantities now it may not be subject to these changes.

*Edit unlimited time - 2 years...same same in my dome