Mobile Satellite Services Products

SPOT X satellite messenger with Bluetooth launches in Europe and MENA region

The new messenger offers two-way SMS and email messaging as well as GPS tracking and a one-touch S.O.S. button via satellite using a SPOT X app.

Globalstar Europe Satellite Services, a subsidiary of Globalstar and provider of satellite messaging and emergency notification technologies, has announced the launch of SPOT X two-way satellite messenger with Bluetooth in Europe, Middle East and North Africa (EMENA).

This new model allows users to connect SPOT X to their smartphone over Bluetooth to send and receive email and text messages over satellite using a SPOT X app. SPOT provides satellite communications and S.O.S. notification while travelling, including locations with unreliable or non-existent mobile coverage.

SPOT X with Bluetooth wireless technology offers two-way SMS and email messaging as well as GPS tracking and a one-touch S.O.S. button that instantly sends the user’s GPS location to the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Centre (IERCC) over the Globalstar satellite network.

The IERCC then transmits details to local first responders to dispatch help to the user’s precise location. SPOT has played a role in more than 6,900 rescues around the globe.

Users can message directly from the SPOT X device or use the new SPOT X app that also features 14 pre-programmed messages and access to the contacts on a user’s smartphone. SPOT X gives users a permanent phone number, free incoming messages, easy check-in function and a full, backlit QWERTY keypad. It also promises a long battery life in both tracking and S.O.S. modes and is priced competitively.

Commenting on the device launch, David Kagan, CEO at Globalstar, said: “The vast majority of our current customers already take their mobile phones on their adventures. Adding Bluetooth capability to SPOT X allows users to seamlessly connect their smartphone and use an intuitive interface to send and receive messages over the Globalstar satellite network. SPOT X operates for up to 10 days on a single charge, with or without a paired phone.”

Panorama Diffusion is an Italy-based distributor of mountain and bike products, including SPOT. Gunther Acherer, Managing Director at Panorama Diffusion, added: “The SPOT family of products is popular among users involved in many outdoor activities but the vast majority of our customers go walking, climbing and mountain biking in the Alps. The Bluetooth version of SPOT X is certain to be a hit with those many adventurers who prefer to use an app on their phone to send and receive satellite messages.”