BlueCosmo Iridium Extreme Satellite Phone & 300 Minute 1 Year Global Prepaid SIM Card - Voice, SMS Text Messaging, GPS Tracking, Emergency SOS - Online Activation - 24/7

So, recently I was notified by Globalstar that they will no longer provide sat phone service to the state of Alaska. So, I had to scramble to find another sat phone. Since I purchased my Globalstar phone from BlueCosmo I felt very comfortable going to them for another one. Iridium was my only option as Inmarsat isn't what I needed. The package is a great deal. BlueCosmo got the phone to me quickly. As far as this phone compared to my Globalstar, this phone is a little smaller, and a little bit more involved to use. But, it's just the learning curve in using a new device. I added a docking station and larger mag antenna and it works great. With the external antenna sitting in my window sill I had sat connection around the clock, in Alaska, sooooo....

the phone is not so big, very like a walkie-talkie, so kind of low-profile compared with the brick-like IsatPhone 2. Also, Iridium constellation coverage is very good. I have tested it in Manhattan. sometimes it took longer because there are so many tall buildings. The location tracking update is very useful and reliable. also, the message can be sent to either a phone number as a SMS or an email address as email, very handy. the firmware is 17001, not 15001. there are some online articles about recalling of this firmware. i don't know this is the "old" 17001 or "newly modified" 17001. The phone did freeze up several times. once when a new message came in and i wanted to open it. the other occasions were also involved with use of SMS.Update: recently updated the firmware to latest 19002. It uses Next capability to increase network connection. Much quicker to get a fix now.

Service sold separately FYI ....Great reception as long as you follow basic instructions ie. outside with good line of sight with the stars. Very generous battery life still recommend a second one just to keep as backup. Install was easy and activation of service was literally 1call (I bought service on another sim prior to unboxing ... box comes with a pre paid sim you just have to select and pay for service if you want it).

5 stars to BlueCosomo. Negative stars for amazon. amazon sent me a broken phone and a box of pieces as a new phone. Even left a different Amazon customer's return slip in the box. sim card was already in the phone and partially used. needed this phone to take to Puerto Rico two weeks ago.. very very bad. BlueCosomo was amazing. they sent a replacement phone to San Juan for me and had it pre-setup and ready to go out of the box. Shout out to JON and CHUCK @ BlueCosmo!!!

I just moved to Alaska and spent $1000+ dollars on this device so that in an emergency I would be able to call for help if needed. I had to drive up the Alaskan highway twice. I bought a prepaid card on Amazon, and didn’t use it. I then had to pay AGAIN, although not as much, to prevent it from expiring so I’d have it available on my second trip. Had I known that was how this company operates I would have gone elsewhere. Had I known about the Garmin Inreach ($333 and $14/month unlimited texting) I would have bought that instead. As an emergency backup in the Alaskan bush the Inreach is smaller, more economical and equally as effective.

The last communication after all else fails!Just need lots of patience to enter ALL the information in BOTH GEOS and BLUE COSMOS Websites, or your ‘safety shield’ will be useless as aluminum foil!

Great phone but time packages from BlueCosmo are very confusing. I purchased a 2 month package of 150 minutes. Later when I called BlueCosmo to activate they recommended a monthly billing package of $100 which included 150 minutes per month. They also have a basic package of 10 minutes for $50 per month or 75 minutes for $75 per month. My recommendation is buy the basic phone or phone kit with no air time. Call BlueCosmos and go with a monthly plan. I'm stuck with a sim with 150 minutes that I can't return because it was part of a kit that included the phone. When I sell the phone I'll include the sim card as part of the package.As for the phone it worked everywhere. I was sailing on the Pacific side of Central America from Costa Rica to Mexico. I could sometimes use the phone inside the cabin of the fiberglass boat. Always worked on deck.5 stars for the phone 3 stars for confusing airtime choices. Hope this helps.

Great Satellite phone for Yosemite Park. Definitely need to set it up before you leave on your trip, as there are several steps to follow. Do your research to make sure you get all of the extra functionality for your safety.

The phone came on time works great

Satellite phones are notoriously expensive to run. With calls to satellite numbers often cost £3.50 per minute.Line rental and calls to landline from the satellite phone are not much better. Iridium is one of the more expensive providers, however they offer the most coverage, and you can use their phones while on the move.The Iridium Extreme is a reasonably good satellite phone with text message capabilities. Mobile internet isn’t really possible, the connection is too slow even to browse the web. However Iridium do provide a special email service which works well.It has the useful features of providing with your GPS coordinates at the touch of a button, and it is built rugged when the Antenna is retracted. Useful features such as the external antenna come in handy when on a boat or in a car, but the battery life is short at 30 hours (max). It’s best to get a second battery, or use an oversized battery.It’s not a modern handset, but it functions perfectly well as a phone. I wouldn’t try writing or reading an email on the handset. Other than that it is pretty simple to configure and get started with.Please remember that some countries have made satellite phones illegal, so you need to check local law before taking a satellite phone there.

fonctionne pas tjrs en bi directionnel mais communications pas mal et arrive très complet

phone looks and works nice, however I could not get any signal to make a call.