If you think your phone’s data connection is shitty at home, just imagine being in the middle of the wilderness. Or on a mountain. Or the ocean. Iridium’s new super-rugged handset and access point sucks satellite signal everywhere you go.
Let’s say you’re in the middle of a glacier. Or, maybe more realistically, a national park. Or really anywhere on this wide planet of ours that doesn’t get mobile reception. You probably want to check your email or do a little web browsing, eh? Tough shit! There’s no signal, and certainly no Wi-Fi. So make your own Wi-Fi.
The Iridium Extreme handset is water resistant, dust proof, ruggedised against drops and shocks, and, of course, connects to Iridium’s global satellite network for voice, SMS and GPS action. So that’s great if you need a rugged satellite phone. Add in the Iridium AxCess Point (x-treme spelling!), a medium size USB-connectable black box and you’ve got a satellite-powered WiFi hotspot, anywhere on Earth.
Now admittedly, it’s slow — 28 Kbps. Like, early ’90s speeds. A far, far, far reach from 3G, or even EDGE. But it’d be enough for email and light, slow browsing. Or checking out some photos if you have the patience of a Zen master.
So it’s slow, expensive, and not exactly compact — but for those who traverse the various jungles, crags, peaks, ravines, and seas of the world, it could save a life. Or help you blog a little! [Iridium]