DentonDoc wrote on Jan 26^th, 2011 at 2:21am:

It is no secret to some that I'm a gear freak.  And a few also know that I use a SPOT device when in the back country ... especially important IMO when traveling solo. A newly announced product will finally eliminate many of the weaknesses of the initial implementation of the SPOT by coupling a smart phone with   (You need to Login or Register.  So, not only will you now be able to transmit your location, but short text messages as well. :)  So, for example, if you want to let someone know that you want to be picked up at such-and-such a location at a specified time, that will now be possible.  (More likely ... I'm having so much fun, I think I'll stay for another day!) dd

I have the Delorme PN60/W GPS with Spot. I got it back in November and it has been great. It does what you mentioned above but through the GPS. It sends a signal every 10 minutes to a tracking site. Those tracks are available to whomever you want to see them. It has not missed a post so far. You can send the canned messages to one person or you can group contacts.

I have mildly autistic son who goes on river trips with me. 5 or 6 days of no contact used to worry his mom to death. Now she feels connected. Every 10 minutes she can see where we are on the water. She gets our ok messages when we set up camp and a goodnight message from our son.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to stay in touch without being in touch so to speak, If you want to track your progress real time in Google maps/earth with no intervention.  If you need to send an SOS I have no doubt it works.

The spot device works independent of the GPS or Phone. The messages come from the GPS or phone but the SOS can be activated from the spot device itself.


all in all a good system