Handheld GPS with Satellite Communicator

Spot LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globalstar and DeLorme jointly announced the world’s first rugged, handheld GPS and satellite communicator product. The DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w with SPOT Satellite Communicator will be the first handheld GPS navigation device capable of sending customized text messages even when the user is operating far beyond the range of cellular communications. General product availability is scheduled for spring 2010, and will be unveiled this week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

SPOT technology allows real-time location updates and the ability to summon help in an emergency. Custom messages and waypoints can easily be shared with social networking sites like SPOTadventures.com, Geo-caching.com, Twitter and Facebook. As an emergency back-up, the SPOT Satellite Communicator has stand-alone capability to send location-based SOS notification to an emergency response centre.

“This announcement combines the latest in sophisticated handheld GPS with SPOT satellite communications providing one-of-a-kind, custom messaging and sharing of geo-location information with others in real-time,” said Peter Dalton, President of Spot LLC and CEO of Globalstar.

“For the first time, people will be able to type custom text messages using the Earthmate PN-60w internal keyboard and then transmit wirelessly to the unique DeLorme SPOT Communicator for sending satellite messages around the globe,” said Caleb Mason, DeLorme Vice President.

Users of the PN-60w can easily manage their profile online including custom maps and message history utilising a fully integrated user interface designed by SPOT. Information can be kept fully private or shared with family and friends using custom tools like SPOT shared pages and SPOTadventures.com.

As a stand-alone GPS, the Earthmate PN-60w delivers premium navigation features including a 32-channel GPS chipset, blazing-fast dual-core processor, 3-axis electronic compass, sensitive barometric altimeter, elevation profiles and GPX file transfers. At CES, DeLorme also will be announcing new worldwide map data for the PN-60w, including high-resolution colour aerial imagery. SPOT also will be showcasing its SPOT Satellite Messenger product family and satellite-based services at CES including the award-winning SPOT Personal Tracker and the new SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger.