DeLorme’s GPS unit lets you send short messages without cellphone coverage
Delorme’s InReach GPS Communicator lets you send text messages, even when you are in the wilderness and far away from cellphone coverage.
As befits a GPS device, it’s all done with satellites. Delorme has teamed up with Iridium, the satellite phone people, to offer a $10-per-month messaging package.
It works in two ways. First of all, you can set three messages before you head out and then “send” any of them direct from the device. If you send an SOS message to search and rescue, you will receive confirmation of its receipt via a color-change in the unit’s SOS LED.
And if you have an Android phone, you can pair the two and tether the connection to send SMS messages (or short 160-character emails). These too will receive a confirmation when they are read. Using this conduit, you can even update Twitter.
The InReach also uses Delorme’s library of maps to give you various topographical, nautical and aerial data.
Clearly the best use of this tech is to pair it with a phone, but even without it’s a cheap and lightweight way to make sure you can get help at any time. The price of the unit, along with the launch date, have yet to be announced.
DeLorme inReach—two-way satellite communication [DeLorme via Werd]
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