The New Garmin Montana 700i looks very interesting

The 700i is 14.5 oz and I lose all the apps and functionality I get when I take my phone with my inReach Mini…or I could take this AND the phone with no Mini and add “only” 11 oz to my pack. I’m not sure I like how the math plays out on this one.

Yes, for backpacking, I agree. I meant to start this thread in Bikepacking, where I can see this replacing my Edge 1000 pretty easily. Then I’d have a ‘bike computer’ and a satellite messenger all in one, instead of having the Edge 1000 mounted and my in Reach mini stashed away for emergencies.

Aside from the weight, the battery life is a deal breaker for me when hiking. Still, a move in the right direction.

The chunky mounts makes me think it’s meant for mounting on the dash of a boat or ATV. I can’t imagine it’s geared towards hikers. Phone + Mini is the only logical solution for light backcountry. It’s only a matter of time before cell phones get satellite comms built in.

Yeah, as I said, I meant to post in the bikepacking forum. I can easily see this mounted on my handlebars on a bikepacking trip instead of my bike computer with my inReach mini stowed away. One thing instead of two.

“It’s only a matter of time before cell phones get satellite comms built in”

I’d love to see this happen but there are several reasons why it might be a while before a garden variety cell phone has satellite capabilities.

From the supply perspective:

– satellite bandwidth will continue to be a scarce resource for the near term (10-20 years)

– phone vendors are extremely cost conscious now and over time will become even more so

From the demand point of view:

– the average consumer has no need for such capability

– especially if it makes the device more expensive to own and with the higher power consumption from the addition of satellite radios and antenna

There will also need to be some arrangement between the cell phone carriers and the satellite operators (Iridium etc) for seamless billing etc.

I could see specialized niche cell  phones that could show up on the market but the carriers (at least in the US) have shown little interest in niche products. It increases the complexity of their inventory, repair, replacement etc

I would love to see this happen but would not hold my breath.

It’s more likely we’ll see more competitive offerings that compete with the original Inreach  like products. Garmin seems to want to integrate the Inreach capabilities with the traditional navigation (GPS handheld) devices – these are potentially high margin products for Garmin but make no sense for a consumer like me (I’m happy to carry an Inreach paired with a smartphone with Gaia). The GPS handheld market is increasingly under threat from Gaia like apps on smartphones – the satellite integration allows Garmin to offer a differentiated product at a much higher upfront price and the opportunity of a recurring revenue stream from the satellite subscription.

The competition (at least two I know of) is focused solely on the Inreach like capabilities at better price points than Garmin. Time will tell how these battles reshape this landscape and lead to newer product/service offerings.