British smartphone firm Bullitt on Friday launched a latest phone able to sending text messages via space, joining a crowded race to commercialize satellite-enabled devices.
The phone, which inserts into the “rugged” category of durable handsets, is available in two versions: the Caterpillar-branded Cat S75, which is aimed toward the European market and can retail for 599 euros ($634.49), and the Motorola Defy 2, which caters to North America at a $599 starting price.
Each phones include 5G connectivity, a 6.6-inch display and 5,000 milliampere-hour battery, which Bullitt says can last as long as two full days.
With Bullitt’s phones, a message is beamed to geostationary satellites about 22,000 miles above the equator, then sent back all the way down to earth-based network infrastructure before reaching a user’s device.
The user receives the message as a regular SMS. They are going to must have Bullitt Messenger — the firm’s proprietary satellite messaging app — installed with the intention to reply.
Texts take around 10 seconds to undergo, versus the near-instant speed of cell phones. Satellite connection is barely turned on when a user falls outside the reach of Wi-Fi or mobile network signals.
News of Bullitt’s latest phones comes not long after Apple announced the launch of its iPhone 14, which has a feature for contacting emergency services via satellite. The feature is on the market within the U.S., U.K., France, Germany and Ireland.
Device makers like Apple and chip firms like Qualcomm are betting on the untapped opportunity of putting satellite phones within the hands of individuals in distant areas that fall outside the reach of terrestrial telecoms infrastructure.
Connecting to satellites allows messages to succeed in broad swathes of land not captured by earth-based cellular equipment. Cell towers are more limited in range, meaning in the event you stray too removed from one, you will lose signal.
It could turn out to be useful, in the event you’re a hiker who’s gotten lost on a mountain trail in a far-flung place, or a employee on a distant constructing site who must contact their boss, but cannot access mobile data.
Satellite phones have been within the works for a long time, but haven’t yet entered mainstream usage. Bullitt is hoping to alter this with its gear. Many satellite phones are clunky rectangular objects with large, visible antennae. But Bullitt’s phones appear like regular smartphones, thanks partly to a satellite-enabled chip from Taiwanese semiconductor firm MediaTek.
“That is assuredly not a gimmick,” Tim Shepherd, Bullitt’s senior director of applications and product marketing, told CNBC.
“Reliable communication beyond the normal reaches of the cellular network is a serious issue for lots of people, and satellite technology is now at the appropriate level of maturity to deal with the issue.”
Bullitt says that its phones go a step further than those of Apple, enabling two-way SMS messages, in addition to an emergency SOS feature which the corporate has developed in partnership with critical event management firm Focuspoint International.
Rates for Bullitt’s two-way messaging service are set at 4.99 euros for a basic plan with 30 messages a month, 9.99 euros for 125 messages a month, and 29.99 euros for 400 messages per thirty days.
As compared, rival firm Garmin charges £19 for 10 texts a month, £32 for 60 texts a month, and £58 for 250 monthly texts, on top of a £35 one-time activation fee.
Apple’s Emergency SOS feature, which doesn’t enable two-way messaging, is free for 2 years after the activation of an iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro.
The iPhone maker hasn’t disclosed pricing for the service, once that period ends.
Bullitt can also be launching a Bluetooth accessory, the Motorola Defy Satellite Link, that lets any Android or iOS device hook up with its Bullitt Satellite Messenger app, effectively enabling any phone to turn out to be a satellite phone. The puck-shaped device, which retails at $99, can be available within the second quarter.
Ben Wood, lead analyst at CCS Insight, said that Bullitt was targeting a distinct segment market, and that its solution was higher suited to countries with large land masses, just like the U.S. and Australia.
“The corporate is a trailblazer for satellite messaging but competition is snapping at its heels,” Wood told CNBC. “That said, the goal marketplace for its devices is well suited to the technology so it has a lucrative area of interest to focus on.”
Bullitt will support satellite coverage in Europe and North America at launch, with Australia and Recent Zealand, Africa and Latin America to follow by mid-2023.
The corporate was previously chargeable for what it called the world’s first thermal imaging smartphone, the Cat S60, in 2016. On the time, the firm said it believed the feature can be in 50% of smartphones in five years, a prediction that didn’t come to fruition.
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