Any experiences using satellite phones please? (Iridium vs Gstar)

Due to a member of the family having a long term (but not normally
life threatening) illness I would feel more at ease if I'm able to be
contacted regardless of where I may travel. Normal cell phones will
not cover some of my locations reliably so I'm thinking of getting a
sat phone for emergency contact/status. Has anyone in here had
personal experience with either Iridium or Gstar? (the more recent the
better)
From the various canned statements I've found on the net it sounds
like the Iridium has more coverage, but that the Gstar has "slightly"
better voice quality. Of course the Iridium is more expensive as an
initial investment, but I have found some sites that tout *free*
incoming calls (meaning the Iridium owner doesn't pay, but that the
caller does, which is ok for me) so that depending on use the Iridium
may actually come out cheaper than Gstar.
My follow-up on this topic is in regards to the offers on line for
calling plans and such.....and "gotcha" fine print that one has to be
on the lookout for that any of you might have gotten burned on?

I really appreciate anyones time and information on this!

On Thu, 02 Mar 2006 17:33:37 -0500, aztik wrote
(with possible editing):

Due to a member of the family having a long term (but not normally
life threatening) illness I would feel more at ease if I'm able to be
contacted regardless of where I may travel. Normal cell phones will
not cover some of my locations reliably so I'm thinking of getting a
sat phone for emergency contact/status. Has anyone in here had
personal experience with either Iridium or Gstar? (the more recent the
better)
From the various canned statements I've found on the net it sounds
like the Iridium has more coverage, but that the Gstar has "slightly"
better voice quality. Of course the Iridium is more expensive as an
initial investment, but I have found some sites that tout *free*
incoming calls (meaning the Iridium owner doesn't pay, but that the
caller does, which is ok for me) so that depending on use the Iridium
may actually come out cheaper than Gstar.
My follow-up on this topic is in regards to the offers on line for
calling plans and such.....and "gotcha" fine print that one has to be
on the lookout for that any of you might have gotten burned on?

I really appreciate anyones time and information on this!

Just one point which must be emphasized. Neither company provides
service indoors except in those areas served by cellular service and
then it takes a dual band phone. A friend of mine used Iridium and
found so many places it didn't work that he ended up dropping it.
Can't speak to Gstar, but without proof to the contrary, I'd expect it
to be the same.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

Just one point which must be emphasized. Neither company provides
service indoors except in those areas served by cellular service and
then it takes a dual band phone. A friend of mine used Iridium and
found so many places it didn't work that he ended up dropping it.
Can't speak to Gstar, but without proof to the contrary, I'd expect it
to be the same.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

Thanks for the info-just to clarify since you put both comments in the
same paragraph, are you saying that he had dropped calls because he
was trying to call from inside or that he was having dropped calls
regardless of calling from outside? It makes a difference on the
reliability then if it was while he was outdoors.
Thanks and I wanted to reply here instead of privately in case anyone
else if following although I'll shoot you an e-mail if you don't see
this.

On Fri, 03 Mar 2006 20:25:10 -0500, aztik wrote
(with possible editing):


Just one point which must be emphasized. Neither company provides
service indoors except in those areas served by cellular service and
then it takes a dual band phone. A friend of mine used Iridium and
found so many places it didn't work that he ended up dropping it.
Can't speak to Gstar, but without proof to the contrary, I'd expect it
to be the same.
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com

Thanks for the info-just to clarify since you put both comments in the
same paragraph, are you saying that he had dropped calls because he
was trying to call from inside or that he was having dropped calls
regardless of calling from outside? It makes a difference on the
reliability then if it was while he was outdoors.
Thanks and I wanted to reply here instead of privately in case anyone
else if following although I'll shoot you an e-mail if you don't see
this.

I don't know the answer. I think he was told beforehand that it
didn't work inside - I don't know if he ever went inside during a
call, but fwiw, I don't think he bought the phone that had dual
service since he was mostly on the water when he used this. I will
try to call him today and ask for you, but I'd expect you might be
able to find out from the manufacturer. I know that you can't call
from inside a normal building.

Best,
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com
--

Larry
Email to rapp at lmr dot com