New Spot satcom messenger

I like the layout of this with the keyboard compared to my iReach SE and it is a similar weaight at 7oz.  The price isn’t bad either

Of course the new 3.5oz inReach makes this (and my SE) feel like a brick, but an interesting product nonetheless.

Two years ago this would have been a huge hit.

Wow, three new devices in the past month (the Somewear, Garmin inReach Mini, and Spot X).  I hope there will still be a market for non-subscription stand-alone personal locator beacons.

I contacted Garmin this morning about the inReach Mini and they confirmed that they’re waiting for the factory to ship the product and that the 3-5 week availability was accurate.  He did tell me that when the factory ships they will be shipping directly to their larger customers (REI, Cabela’s, Amazon) so that it’s possible that they will have the inReach Mini before it’s available directly from Garmin.

I have a trip next week and I wish I could have one because we’ll be stuck in one of the “cellular holes” in north-central PA.

Wow! A usable keyboard!

I don’t want to be online all day while in the backcountry but I have typed out a few messages on my InReach in the past. That keyboard looks *really* nice.

Yes, typing messages on the inReach is painful.   Luckily the presets work reasonably well for my needs most of the time.

This is tempting. And the battery life sounded very good as well.

I’ll be waiting a year or more for some real reviews.

While the texting capability of the SPOT is of course an important addition, unless there is some other X factor to consider such as a greater signal sending strength, I think that the superior satellite network of Iridium vs Globalstar makes the inReach Mini the clear choice here. I have become increasingly concerned about SPOT communication dropouts when I evaluate my tracks.

Nice addition to the backcountry communications product field.

Like Cameron (and probably others), I’m concerned about Spot X communications reliability. We’ll have to wait and see.

I’m not a fan of teeny-tiny QWERTY keyboards (BTDT with the Palm Treo). I’d rather see an old cell phone keypad with larger keys and predictive typing. Much faster than the inReach “cursing keyboard”, and much easier to use with gloves or fat fingers. I hope the Spot X includes pre-set messages like the inReach.

The cost of Spot X two-way service plans could be much higher than Spot one-way plans; that could determine how cost-effective this is versus inReach and other Iridium-based communicators. Spot service plans kept Globalstar afloat (barely) during their satellite telephone problems a few years ago.

— Rex

Reading lots of stuff about poor reception and customer service.

It looks something like an old PalmPilot or Blackberry!  (Kids, you can google those to find out what sort of antique devices these were…)

Not sure what it’s really adding to the equation, since you can pair your InReach with your phone to type faster text messages…but maybe I’m just being negative because I’m thinking of selling my InReach SE and buying a Mini…

“the inReach cursing keyboard”

Ha! Yes. My wife texted me about a problem with the air conditioner while my son and I were in a thunderstorm descending from Mather Pass along the JMT. I definitely cussed at the text entry that day.

“Not sure what it’s really adding to the equation, since you can pair your InReach with your phone to type faster text messages…but maybe I’m just being negative because I’m thinking of selling my InReach SE and buying a Mini…”

FWIW I never liked pairing my phone to the InReach because it requires effort to enable on both devices and uses more battery. I think a physical Blackberryesque keyboard looks like a great solution but I’m going to have to hear some pretty rave reviews about the connectivity of this new Spot device before I will consider it.

Spot had to come out with something. I imagine the inReach was killing their sales. The keyboard is a unique differentiator.

Is putting a solar charger on the back of these devices impractical? Too small surface area or too much weight/bulk added?

It looks to be a pretty cool solution if it can hold a signal.

All I really want is a Garmin Etrex 30X combined with the SPOT for about the same weight as just 1.  The weight of this one elminates it from contention since it weighs more than carrying both. While being able to send my own text is nice to have, it isn’t need to have.  While I have some interest in the new inReach mini due to its weight, it falls short in what I want as it sucks as a standalone GPS compared to my Etrex.  I don’t want to need a phone to get decent mapping.

What about the Inreach explorer. It comes with 24k base map installed.

sigh… Now I suppose I’ll have to “need” this SPOT and sell my Gun. 3 version.

Can’t we have a “weightless” hologram screen? ;o)

P.S. The locator/signals beacons and their subscriptions are “expensive” but think of how inexpensive they can be in a true emergency, yours or someone you happen along in your trip.

In addition to my SPOT Gen. 3 beacon I have AAA’s Premier membership level (membership is required B/C I have AAA home and Auto insurance) and this gives me “medical evacuation coverage” up to $25,000. as long as it’s 100 miles or more from my home. That’s financially comforting as rescue chopper evacuation is very expensive.

For $299/year with unlimited messaging, the Spot X annual Adventurer plan is half of the the Garmin Inreach (Expedition) plan that includes unlimited text messages at $600/year.

However, doing some math you could come up with an expected usage plan for Inreach:

Example 1: 6 months on a Recreation level and 6 months off (suspended) – Freedom Plan
$25/yr annual Freedom Plan fee + $210 (6 months Recreation level)
= $235/yr

Example 2: 6 months Safety level + 6 Months Recreation level
$25 (to switch to a lower service level once per year) + $72 (6 mos Safety level) + $150 (6 mo Recreation level)
= $247/yr

The second example would better fit my planned usage and still let me keep an Inreach activated for the whole year.

Mike,

Example 2: 25+89.7+209.7=324.4; unless an annual subscription is changed to a more expensive plan. Their 2016 Terms and Conditions didn’t allow any change. Section 4.3 of their 2017 Terms and Conditions allowed a change if it was to a more expensive option. I can’t find any Terms and Conditions for 2018. Assuming 2017 is the most recent version, you can’t go back to the lower cost plan without paying a “change plan fee”. They don’t specify what that fee charge is. Do you know?

Another Spot X pre-release review from Outside:

https://www.outsideonline.com/2305036/first-impressions-spots-new-satellite-messenger

Interesting bits:

The most noteworthy development is that each Spot X has its own registered U.S. phone number. That means you’re reachable via text should anyone need to get in touch with you.

It’ll last, on average, ten days when tracking at ten-minute intervals, while the SE+ is good for a little over four.

I’ll wait for more real-world testing before trusting that “ten days” battery life claim.

https://www.findmespot.com/spotx

Spot is going to undercut Garmin on subscription prices, with an annual Weekender plan at $200 (equal to $16.66/month) with unlimited tracking and 300 messages looking good to me.

Two-way coverage in most of North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. Notably missing are Asia  and Australia with one-way coverage only, and Hawaii and many other islands with zero coverage.

I’m starting to think of it as a stripped-down, cheaper inReach SE+ with a real keyboard and not-global coverage. Still worried about messaging reliability.

— Rex

I have been looking at the InReach Mini the last couple weeks, but this is a much better deal—as others did the math on above, this is much more affordable than the Garmin and all you lose is global coverage and weather forecasts.

Having unlimited texts with a permanent phone numbers means folks can initiate conversation which is a huge shift from the Garmin.

Already preordered one. It’ll be useful for the couple multi-week trips I have planned.

“Having unlimited texts with a permanent phone numbers means folks can initiate conversation which is a huge shift from the Garmin.”

For some (like me) this would be a serious misfeature! Imagine getting texts from folks that have your number who feel like they need to reach out to you just to say hi! Worse yet imagine the potential for spam texts….

I think I’ll pass on having a mobile number…..

I much prefer the model supported by the Inreach products.

> spam texts

Oooooooh, good point!  Robo callers seem to have “discovered” my cell phone — don’t want that crap on the trail!

“Oooooooh, good point!  Robo callers seem to have “discovered” my cell phone — don’t want that crap on the trail!”

Unrelated – I’ve got a Google Phone number that I strictly use when companies demand a phone number to complete a purchase or such, so I never have to give companies my ‘real’ phone number. When someone calls the Google number, they have to say who they are before the call is put through, so spam callers hang up instead. Doesn’t cost anything. Quite helpful to limit spam calls.

“Having unlimited texts with a permanent phone numbers means folks can initiate conversation which is a huge shift from the Garmin.”

With Garmin you have a mapshare page. You can select to allow people to message you through the mapshare page, so folks can initiate conversation with you as long as you grant them access to the mapshare page. At least that’s how I understand it.