At CES 2025, HMD’s OffGrid Lets Your Phone Send Messages Over Satellite
Wandering around without cell service? HMD’s new OffGrid hotspot accessory will be available CES 2025designed to let smartphones use satellites to send text messages.
Technically, the palm-sized OffGrid is a rebranded version of the similar-looking OffGrid. Motorola Defy Satellite Linkthe feature was launched at CES 2024 and is limited to sending emergency messages. The product was developed by rugged phone maker Bullitt, which Acquired by RCD 2023 last year(Formed by the founders of Bullitt), HMD collaborated with it to release OffGrid. Both devices are designed for travelers who are out of range of traditional cellular networks, or as backup during a disaster when those networks go down.
In contrast, OffGrid is designed to support regular text messaging, like some advanced phones (e.g. Google Pixel 9 Series and Apple’s Send message via satellite Characterized by iphone 16, iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 owner. this Huawei Pura 70 Ultra Released last year, it can also send images to contacts in emergencies.
Read more: I visited Google to learn more about the Pixel 9’s Satellite SOS tool
The nice thing about OffGrid is that it works with Android and iOS phones (HMD doesn’t specify device compatibility), although they will use OffGrid’s proprietary app to connect and message others. It’s capable of contacting emergency services and can share a user’s real-time location with up to five people every four hours to every three minutes, but the more frequently, the faster the battery drains.
Using OffGrid requires subscribing to one of two subscription tiers. HMD Unlimited is priced at $15 per month (or $140 per year), with an activation fee of $10, and provides unlimited text messages, check-in messages, and SOS services. The cheaper HMD Freedom plan, priced at $80 per year (which breaks down to $6.67 per month) after a $20 activation fee, offers 350 text messages and check-ins for the year, while real-time tracking pings cost $6.67 per month. 10 cents each. Both plans also have the option of unlimited real-time tracking for an additional $5 per month.
The OffGrid has a 600 mAh battery, which HMD says will last up to 10 days, but use (including real-time location tracking) will drain the battery faster – for example, if you ping your location every half hour, the battery should last Lasts approximately 3 to 4 days. At 60 grams, it’s slightly lighter than the 70-gram Motorola Defy Satellite Link, but the OffGrid looks very similar in design, with a large, brightly colored SOS button on the right and other buttons on the left, one of which lets you Send a pre-written check-in message to selected contacts to let them know you’re doing well. OffGrid also has a small speaker that warns you when the battery is low.
HMD plans to expand OffGrid’s capabilities with more features, and while the company hasn’t yet detailed what features it will add, representatives described an upcoming enterprise SDK and potential features like voice clips and images that could be rolled out later. The accessory doesn’t support satellite calling, but it uses a third-party service to coordinate contacting emergency services, much like Apple’s SOS feature.
HMD’s OffGrid service runs on the satellite networks of providers Viasat and Skylo, and is limited to the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) at launch. These services will expand to Canada, Mexico and Brazil in the first quarter of 2025, with further expansion to the rest of the Americas, Europe, Australia and New Zealand later.
While certain phones have begun to ship with satellite connectivity, the technology is still in its early stages. Services that enable various cell phones to connect to satellites are not yet available. Late last year, Verizon abandoned its previous partnership with Amazon on its slow-moving Project Kuiper and instead signed up with the two companies AST space movement and Satellite network company Skylowhile T-Mobile announced Getting ready for beta testing, connecting your phone to SpaceX’s Starlink network The microsatellite will be completed by the end of 2024. AT&T announces it will launch in 2022 It will partner with AST SpaceMobile to bring connectivity to its customers.
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