Its always a good idea to have a reliable communication device. Because of our travels we always find ourselves in the great outdoors and off the grid. Having a reliable communication device gives me peace of mind, just incase we need to call for help. Couple of weeks ago i had the chance to preorder the new Isatphone 2 which boasts better performance than its predecessor.
Build
First thing I noticed is the unit is matte black. It looks like a serious satellite phone unlike its predecessor. The previous model is blue and looks like a toy but l assure you it can take considerable amount of beating. Holding the phone it feels like its built for the outdoors , it has a matte plastic rubber finish and the ports are sealed tight, rated IP65 and IKO4 . Unlike the previous model the antenna cannot be stowed inside the phone, when the antenna is stowed it adds an inch to the width of the phone.
Screen and Interface
Gorilla glass, High contrast colored screen. Menu is very easy to navigate. It reminds me of the Nokia menu system before the touch screen phones came out.
There’s a thick layer of plastic protecting the LCD. As you can see below, the plastic screen is cracked but the LCD is still intact and phone still working. The full weight of my Canon 300mm 2.8 accidentally dropped on the screen of the phone.
New Features
It has 4 interfaces, a Micro USB for power. Its also compatible with Portable battery packs. An audio socket for wired headsets. An antenna port for external antenna attachment and supports Bluetooth 2.0 headsets.
The new phone boasts fast network registration of 45secs-1minute unlike the previous model of 2 mins. They claim to have the longest battery life in the industry, talk time of 8 hours and standby time of 160 hours. It can also view and send GPS location data. The phone has a dedicated tracking button which can send GPS location to preassigned numbers. It also has a Dedicated assistance button which is located on top of the phone which sends SOS signal to a pre assigned number.
The new phone boasts incoming call alerts when the antenna is stowed which is i think i really nice feature because it lets you know who tried to call you so you can call them back.(satellite phones cannot receive calls and text unless the antenna is engaged and has a clear view of the sky).
The phone also comes with a rugged case and a belt clip.
Call and SMS Costs
Inmarsat Prepaid network call costs $1.20 and SMS costs $.60 and the credits are valid for 90 days. You can send SMS to SMS, SMS to email and can receive emails in your phone by sending +8707(your number)@inmarsat.com in your preferred mail application, simple texts only up to 160 characters.
Article originally published on Chromanoise.com
