The new Spot Connect: Easily the most impressive non-mainstream new gadget I’ve seen lately


Image by dionhinchcliffe
One of my new favorites: It’s a rugged, shock-resistant, waterproof GPS, and this is the key part… a full featured one-way satellite communicator.

The features in this little tiny package include:

- Connects to iPhone or Android via Bluetooth
- Phone app can then track location privately or share it on a Web page, live
- Maintains contact list, quick send messages, or you can type a custom message (41 chars)
- Ability to send a message to anyone on earth from anywhere you can see the sky (via e-mail, SMS, or Facebook/Twitter feed)
- Has one-button SOS feature that will send a GEOS-dispatched rescue team to you anywhere in the world
- Has .95/year rescue insurance option (which I took) which covers rescue fees up to 0K
- No cell service required, it works entirely via the Globalstar satellite system (all major continents and much of the ocean)
- How good is it? It sent my location and message successfully, inside the house!

Full details at findmespot.com. Note the device is fairly inexpensive but there is a yearly service fee, though again, not very expensive if you value your life.

To fully test it, I’m going to do a quick, one early morning up-and-down on the Blue Ridge Mountains on the Appalachian Trail and be back before 9am tomorrow. You can track my progress and notes here on my Find Me Spot shared page:

share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0jq9…

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