BlueCosmo Iridium Extreme Satellite Phone & Monthly Service Plan SIM Card - Voice, SMS Text Messaging, GPS Tracking, Emergency SOS - Online Activation - 24/7

I was very happy with the phone it worked well on the trip to Bermuda. Great reception. Didn’t really need but it was nice to have just in case!

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).

The handy unit is simple to operate and appears sufficiently sturdy for outdoor use. I decided to purchase it for bluewater sailing on the boat, and I must say that this satellite phone meets my needs in most aspects. However, I've noticed that the battery life is somewhat limited, lasting only 11 hours in standby mode. Because of this, I’ve included a strong power bank in the phone case, as I anticipate recharging the battery when I’m offshore, particularly in a liferaft or remote areas.

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!!!

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!

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.