Every year when big deals days roll around (be it Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day or the American retail giant’s latest discount day Amazon Big Deals day, which is on right now) we often discover a theme of discounted products and this year the theme seems to be… Satellite messengers.
I’d only just finished writing about the Zoleo messenger Big Deals Day discount this morning when I heard the news that the Spot X satellite comms system was also on offer at Amazon reduced from the usual $249.99 down to $199.95. Unfortunately, it looks like this deal is only available to our US readers.
Often when lots of items are discounted it might mean the end of a goods cycle, and this might well be the case here. The newest iPhones now have built in sat comm functionality so I suspect the big players are preparing to launch new items to market with additional functionality to compete (I should stress I have no insider knowledge, this is purely guesswork). However, I maintain that if you are going out to sea or on proper wilderness excursions (be it hiking or rowing etc) then having the best satellite messenger you can is still vital.
Not only does a good satellite messenger enable contact with the outside world if you need it, battery life is usually better than a phone and functionality is usually better too in a dedicated device – specifically ruggedness.
To that end, the Spot X messenger resembles a large blackberry phone from the early 2000’s, but don’t let that fool you. There’s no tiddly scroll wheel to clogged with fluff on this one. It’s ruggedised and waterproofed to IP67.
The device can be connected via bluetooth to your smartphone for a fuller user experience. The Spot X can be pre loaded with a bunch of messages that are unlimited to send, as are check-ins. This messenger averages the lowest price per SMS message compared to other devices above on a similar price plan so it’s certainly one to consider if you’re on a budget.
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