I know intensive internet research could answer this question but lets introduce a topic on it in this forum anyway.

Firstly, CAN the N900 be used as an satellite phone? I am a complete amatuer in hardware, but my guess would be - if it can connect to GPS, it must be in some way able to connect to satellite phone/internet.

Provided it CAN be used as a satellite phone, then how awesome is that? This phone is kind of designed for (amoung many other things) people to take around the world with them, being constantly connected to the net, sharing and documenting their experiences, etc. etc. etc.

If so, does anyone know anything about satellite phone/internet? Good providers, connection speeds, costs and all that? I am extremely interested in the notion ^_^

Even if it is really expensive, it would be good to just know how good satellite phone/internet is for those who can afford it.

What do you guys think of this idea? I know GSM coverage worldwide is pretty extensive, but imagine you could go deep into an African jungle, a South American rainforest, or deep in the Australian outback, and chat to your friends online, look up stuff ok various wiki's, blog, upload pictures and all that? Imagine after a good day of exploring, you could retire to your tent, download and watch a movie (paid for of course ). Oh I could go on and on.

There are solutions to the battery life as well. For example, you can get 12000mAh "emergency batteries" to charge your phone with. Get 2 of them and its good for 2 weeks of moderate usage. Hand chargers are well, the solutions are there.

What ideas do you have for the phone as an exploring companion?


I sure hope that the first reply to this topic is not "sorry, N900 cannot function as a satellite phone"...that would be an epic fail!

*bangs head on desk*

NO.

That's the wrong assumption here. It is a GPS _receiver_.

Daaaaaaaaaamnnnnnnnnnnnn noooooooooooooooooo.

Meh, I wonder if there are any other solutions then...

Well, sorry to deceive you, but sure it can receive satellite signal because of the GPS chip, BUT it isn't designed at ALL to transmit to a satellite.
A satellite phone can receive signal from the satellite (like the N900 does), but can also emit a signal so strong that can get to the satellite.
N900 only has the hability to transmit signal to the nearest tower.

Yeah I should have guessed that part heh. Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Let's let this embarrassing thread die in peace

sorry, N900 cannot function as a satellite phone

Is the 5th reply ok?

Besides, the satellites for satellite phones use different frequencies and different modulation...

Damn. OK, well how about my pocket radio? Can that be used to transmit a television station? All I have to do is hook a camcorder into it, yeah, and then I'll be available as channel 900?
All those pocket radios before now, and nobody thought of this?

I'm just off to the shops on my skateboard which I shall fashion into a jetpack, but hopefully there'll be a load of great replies by the time I get back.

Channel 900 is taken I'm afraid. You'll be bumped to channel 5138008.

Macguyver style...