No matter where you go, there you are...
Written: Feb 16 '02
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Pros: Coverage all over the planet.
Very long battery life.
Cons: Bulky.
Not many bells and whistles.
The Bottom Line: If you need to call from anywhere, this is a great phone. It won't win any fashion or portability contests though.
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| pa28pilot's Full Review: Qualcomm GSP-1600 Cell Phone |
I've had the GSP-1600 for about 3 years now, and I use it in my car everyday. I bought it as a safety device when flying light aircraft. I still carry it when I fly, but I don't use it as my primary personal phone anymore,except in the car.
On the up side, this phone will allow you to place calls from most points on the planet. There is a range limit of sorts, as you must be within a given distance from a ground station. In practice, this doesn't affect most users, as the range limit is between 1500 and 3000 miles from said ground station. The middle of an ocean is probably the only place where this is likely to cause you difficulty.
The phone is a tri-mode set, meaning it works on the following services:
- Ground-based analog cellular (AMPS)
- Ground-based digital cellular (CDMA 800)
- Satellite digital (CDMA)
The CDMA 800 service is very well provisioned in the United States, so you're likely to have some kind of coverage no matter where you travel.
The antenna design is brilliant. It extends from a tubular sleeve as the sleeve is rotated into the upright position. This protects the antenna when stored and is a good use of space. The phone may be configured to automatically switch to satellite mode when the antenna is extended.
The phone is simple to use, and from the programmer's standpoint looks just like some of the most popular Qualcomm (now Kyocera) phones.
This is important when you walk into your local Verizon outlet with this unusually huge device and tell them to set you up for cell service. I brought a copy of the programming instructions from the web (also shipped with the phone) and they had me programmed in 10 minutes despite never having seen one before.
The phone is easy to use, but not feature rich. The Epinions menu states that it's web-enabled, but that's not entirely accurate. This phone may be used with a data cable for data connections, even to the Internet via the satellite service at 9600 bps, but there's no minibrowser in it.
The display is easy to use and makes it clear in which mode you're operating. The power-on animation with the satellite whooshing by is a crowd-pleaser at parties. (I'm not making this up.)
There's a fairly capable phonebook which will store quite a few numbers. You are constrained to something like 9 characters for names, so skill with abbreviation is useful.
The audio quality is great. It's quite loud at the loudest setting. The audio quality of the satellite service pleasantly surprised me. It was almost as good as the digital cellular audio quality. You will get drop outs when you drive under bridges, but that's to be expected from a satellite phone. The neat thing is that it rarely will drop a call for that reason. I tried the old Iridium service, and I can say that the Globalstar audio quality is far superior. To me, a call over Iridium made the other person sound as if they were under water.
The battery life is eternal. I don't mean to exaggerate, but I've had a week go by before I charged it up, even with frequent use. Switching to non-digital cellular service will dramatically decrease battery life, but that's true of all multi-band phones. It's a big battery, for a big phone, so perhaps it makes sense that it lasts for a while.
Speaking of big phones, the leather carrying case with belt clip leaves something to be desired. The small velcro strip at the top has a tendency to open while it's swinging on my belt, occasionally causing the phone to fall out. This is probably due to the fact that the phone is fairly heavy.
I have the first generation car kit, which has caused me some personal grief. The audio quality is excellent, but the satellite antenna in this first version is a large dome with a 2.5" diameter cylinder sticking up about 6 inches. The satellite antenna cable is not detachable from the car kit, so even to use the terrestrial cellular service I have to drive around with this magnetic mount "dunce cap" on my car. The high-powered amplifier for the satellite antenna is in the rooftop unit, so you wouldn't want to keep it in the passenger compartment for reasons of radio frequency exposure.
On more than one occasion I have been stopped by people who kindly wanted to warn me that something was sitting on my roof. On at least two occasions, I have been hailed by people attempting to flag down a cab. I can't help but laugh, as I have yet to see a Mercedes-Benz taxi in the United States. Then again, I have the satisfaction of knowing I can make a call no matter where I might drive.
The good news is that the newest version of the car kit antenna is an unassuming gray hockey puck. That's what I get for being an "early adopter".
Installation kits for cars and boats are currently available, and one for aircraft (which will probably wind up being a new model of phone) is in development.
Globalstar has turned on both 9600bps data service and Internet services via satellite. This may seem slow to you, but when you realize that people travelling in almost any part of the world might now be able to check their electronic mail, this is a big deal.
I have had a problem with activating data service as my phone has old firmware, and I need to send it into Globalstar for reprogramming. Newer phones should support data services out of the box.
On the support side, the Globalstar telephone support people are exceptionally pleasant and helpful. I wish more companies would follow their example.
The satellite service prices are quite reasonable and frequently competitive with international GSM roaming rates. There are plans for low-time users and those who like to talk. You're likely to pay about $1.60/minute on a $20-30/month plan. The per-minute rate goes under $1 as the plans become more expensive. You're probably going to be using the cellular/CDMA service most of the time anyway, so this will not likely be your primary usage mode.
In short, this is a great phone if you think you might need to make a call from the top of the highest mountain or the floor of the lowest desert. It should even work for you at sea until you get to the exact center of the ocean. You probably won't want to wear it on your belt though.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1500
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Epinions.com ID:
pa28pilot
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Location: Northern Virginia, USA
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I will try the first version of anything, but I won't depend on it.
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