iridium

If you're clinging to flotsam in the middle of the Pacific and need to send an emergency message, DeLorme has a rugged new satellite communicator that can do the job on the cheap.

Its InReach device is a two-way satellite hookup with GPS that lets you send messages from anywhere in the world for as little as $249.95 and a subscription with Iridium's global network from $9.95 monthly.

Used alone, the InReach can send an SOS or up to three preset messages, as well as remote-tracking data; it confirms delivery too. Users can designate recipients such as other InReach devices, e-mail addresses, or Facebook or Twitter accounts before they set out for northern Siberia. … Read more

Need to send some e-mail while trekking in the Australian Outback or dog sledding on the Alaskan tundra? Or maybe you just want to check some game scores while sailing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Satellite phone provider Iridium Communications introduced a new product today that will allow people traveling in remote parts of the world to access basic Internet functionality, such as e-mail and Web surfing, over its satellite communications network. Today, the company announced its AxcessPoint mobile Wi-Fi hot spot, which provides Web access to select smartphones and tablets via Wi-Fi.

The way it works is … Read more

Getting more accurate forecasts about space weather may not help you decide whether to water your garden, but it could soon clue you in better to when events in the solar system may be putting a damper on your electronic activities.

Johns Hopkins University, Boeing, and Iridium Communications announced on Wednesday that they have launched a new space-based service that they say will help scientists monitor magnetic storms around Earth.

Dubbed the Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment (AMPERE), the system utilizes commercial satellites orbiting Earth to take magnetic-field measurements in real time. The result is output that gets … Read more

RAWLINS, Wyo.--After staying in motels for 31 straight days, I'm taking Road Trip 2009 into the woods.

It's not that I'm going to stop filing stories and pictures. It's that I'm taking this opportunity both to (mostly) get away from people for awhile, and to see just how nimble my little collection of tech and communications gadgets makes me as a reporter.

So I'm heading into Wyoming's Sierra Madre mountains today, intent on hiding away in some little campground to enjoy the wilderness, yet still continue posting new stories and pictures. As … Read more

Iridium has begun delivering its latest generation handset, which signals a new era for the global satellite carrier. It has been several years since any significant changes have been made in its handheld equipment, so for current users, this should be welcome news. I received one of the first 9555's that was delivered to World Communications in Chandler, Ariz., by Iridium. It has been a primary vendor for Iridium from the first implementation of the network. The new handsets, with accessories, sell for about $1,700, and according to Iridium, are available now.

The Iridium network, conceived, engineered, and … Read more

TEEC NOS POS, Ariz.--I had just left the Four Corners monument and was on my way to the Canyon de Chelly.

The map showed me two different routes. First, the main roads, a 93-mile route. Not bad, but longer than I wanted to go, since I had much farther to travel after visiting the canyon.

The other route was on a dirt road over some mountains. It looked far shorter. And it was all on roads that were on my AAA map. How hard could it be?

Plus, I had a brand new 4-wheel-drive SUV (an Infiniti QX56), gallons … Read more