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Motorola Satellite 9505, A True Worldwide Lifeline
Pros
Worldwide coverage via Iridium Satellite service
Cons
High cost, short battery life.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is a must have for any world traveler who may be out of range of traditional communication.
For people who travel the around the world there are but a few options for finding a wireless service that is reliable and can be used anywhere. Many people choose to try a GSM digital service, and while this may suit people who travel mostly in Europe, people who travel on the ocean or to more remote areas around the world need something a little more powerful. In my testing of Motorola?s Satellite Series 9505 I was limited to a few hot air ballooning excursions, some trips in Mexico, and a couple of trips out into the Gulf Of Mexico. These few excursions made me believe in the future of Satellite phones and in their potential benefit. With the 9505 one does not have to choose between a worldwide GSM service and Satellite as the phone will work on both modes. I will explain more about the multi-mode capability in the service section of this review as the dual mode service may not be available on all 9505 phones.
Ergonomics and Style
The Motorola Satellite 9505 is the smallest of the multi-mode satellite phones available on the market today. At 6 inches tall the 9505 is just slightly larger than the widely popular Nokia 8260, however this phone is a heavy weight when it comes to modern cell phones. Although most people like lighter phones, the 13 ounce 9505 actually feels very secure in your hand when you are making a phone call. Part of the weight is obviously because of the larger transmitter required for this phone, but much of the weight comes from the stronger protective housing on the 9505. This protective housing provides the added security that you will not destroy your phone with the occasional drop or splash of water on the phone. Most people will be turned off to the aforementioned weight, however, the 9505 is still significantly lighter than any other satellite phone on the market.
The display of the 9505 is simple and strait to the point. In addition to the usual information that is found on a normal cell phone display, the 9505 also displays information on your SIM card and what mode you are set up to use. One complaint is that the 9505 only has a green LCD display that is not easy to read if you are in direct sunlight. The buttons on the 9505 remind me of many of the older Motorola phones with the exception that they are a hard plastic instead of the soft plastic found in many phones today. The buttons do require a little more effort to dial than do most phones, however, I attribute this more to the phone being built for tougher working conditions.
Scrolling through the menus is very simple. The layout of the menu is almost exactly the same as my V60 with the exception of a few feature differences. Most functions can be accessed via the up and down arrow keys or through the ?envelope? menu button. Another thing that is lacking in the 9505 is the capability to program quick access to the most common used features via a ?smart key?, as with many new model Motorola phones. The user interface menu also switches the service between satellite and cellular service with just a few punches of the menu button.
Features and Service
I have combined the feature and service categories of my review because, with the Motorola Satellite 9505, the service of this phone is its most unique feature. The 9505 has the capability to be either a satellite-only phone or, with the addition of ?service? cassettes, one can choose to have the phone work as a dual mode with either TDMA, GSM, or 1900Mhz CDMA digital service. These cassettes will come with the phone depending on what carrier you choose to service your phone. If you buy your phone directly from Iridium (the company that supplies sattellite service), you are given a choice of what cassette you wish. It is important to note that if you choose to have this phone work in a dual mode service, you must have a cell phone carrier that is compatible with the type of digital cassette activate service on the phone as well as your service with Iridium. When working on one of the fixed digital services, the quality is no different than any other phone on the same type of service. I do wish, however, that a service cassette was available for the 800Mhz CDMA digital service as it is the most widely used digital service in the US. My service came with the GSM cassette because of where I was traveling, and when I used the fixed digital vs. Satellite, it was fairly lacking in coverage. I truly relate this mostly to being in Mexico where any wireless service is greatly lacking, although, even in the DFW area GSM coverage is quite limited.
The satellite service with Iridium provides truly worldwide coverage with only a few areas that are not covered by their satellite service. You buy your service via what is called a SIM card and currently the costs are pretty high; ranging up to $10.00 per minute depending on how that call is routed. For those accustomed to regular digital wireless service, you will notice a big difference in the clarity in using a satellite phone. First of all, there is a fairly obvious lag time in the transmission. Secondly, all the voices sound extremely digitized. Both of these take some getting used to, however, for anyone who has the need for a satellite phone, they should expect these small problems.
If you need a secure line, Motorola offers an encryption cassette that can be put in place of the fixed digital cassette. To use the encryption service, however, requires that both calling parties have phones set up with this encryption service.
The Motorola Satellite 9505 has many of the most popular features found in phones but is lacking in many of the obvious features that people expect in an every-day digital phone. The most obvious feature that is missing is the lack of a WAP compatible browser for wireless internet service. Although this is almost expected today, one has to remember that most people who use this type of phone are not normally interested in the ?bells and whistles? but in a phone that can provide emergency communications through out the world.
The phone book on the 9505 will hold up to 100 names and numbers. Even though this is not near the 200-500 entry listing of many other phones on the market, this is still a sufficient phone number memory for most people. The 9505 uses the same memory recall as most other Motorola phones, giving one touch dialing for up to 10 memory locations and speed dialing for all 100 memory locations. (Just press rcl 15 to dial memory location 15 or use the up/down arrow keys to scroll through the names.) One can use Motorola?s sync software to program the memory locations as well as other settings in the menu to expedite time and ease of use. Just plug in the phone with the optional data cable to your PC and download your address book into the phone. You can also download this information using an IR port at the top of the phone. This does require the IR compatible data kit be purchased separately.
The 9505 has the capability to operate in 21 different languages allowing this phone to be marketed around the world. I can see this feature being useful if you are using this phone in a foreign country and need to allow a ?local?? to use the phone.
The battery life on the 9505 is somewhat lacking, giving the operator only 24 hours of standby and about an hour of talk time. I suggest if you are using this phone to always keep a couple of back-up batteries charged and with you.
Of course, the 9505 has the standard features most people expect including ?vibra-call?, 16 ringers, a hands-free headset jack, caller-id compatibility, and the compatibility for many optional accessories.
Who Should Get This Phone?
With its $1500 dollar price tag and the high cost of satellite use minutes, the Motorola Satellite 9505 is not a phone for everyone. The most common user of this phone is the US government and military. I would suggest that anyone who works offshore, such as in an oil-rig, any international private pilots, or anyone who may travel in remote areas of the world, look into this phone. If the $1500 dollar price tag sounds a little high or if you are only temporarily traveling into an area where you think you may need this phone, I would suggest checking with the service carrier in the country that you will be traveling. In many countries, companies have sprung up to lease these phones out, and compared to buying this phone, leasing can be quite a bargain. In Mexico, for example, one can lease this line for about $25.00 US per day plus usage. We considered this quite a bargain when ballooning across Baja considering the alternative of running into trouble and having no communications.
Ergonomics and Style
The Motorola Satellite 9505 is the smallest of the multi-mode satellite phones available on the market today. At 6 inches tall the 9505 is just slightly larger than the widely popular Nokia 8260, however this phone is a heavy weight when it comes to modern cell phones. Although most people like lighter phones, the 13 ounce 9505 actually feels very secure in your hand when you are making a phone call. Part of the weight is obviously because of the larger transmitter required for this phone, but much of the weight comes from the stronger protective housing on the 9505. This protective housing provides the added security that you will not destroy your phone with the occasional drop or splash of water on the phone. Most people will be turned off to the aforementioned weight, however, the 9505 is still significantly lighter than any other satellite phone on the market.
The display of the 9505 is simple and strait to the point. In addition to the usual information that is found on a normal cell phone display, the 9505 also displays information on your SIM card and what mode you are set up to use. One complaint is that the 9505 only has a green LCD display that is not easy to read if you are in direct sunlight. The buttons on the 9505 remind me of many of the older Motorola phones with the exception that they are a hard plastic instead of the soft plastic found in many phones today. The buttons do require a little more effort to dial than do most phones, however, I attribute this more to the phone being built for tougher working conditions.
Scrolling through the menus is very simple. The layout of the menu is almost exactly the same as my V60 with the exception of a few feature differences. Most functions can be accessed via the up and down arrow keys or through the ?envelope? menu button. Another thing that is lacking in the 9505 is the capability to program quick access to the most common used features via a ?smart key?, as with many new model Motorola phones. The user interface menu also switches the service between satellite and cellular service with just a few punches of the menu button.
Features and Service
I have combined the feature and service categories of my review because, with the Motorola Satellite 9505, the service of this phone is its most unique feature. The 9505 has the capability to be either a satellite-only phone or, with the addition of ?service? cassettes, one can choose to have the phone work as a dual mode with either TDMA, GSM, or 1900Mhz CDMA digital service. These cassettes will come with the phone depending on what carrier you choose to service your phone. If you buy your phone directly from Iridium (the company that supplies sattellite service), you are given a choice of what cassette you wish. It is important to note that if you choose to have this phone work in a dual mode service, you must have a cell phone carrier that is compatible with the type of digital cassette activate service on the phone as well as your service with Iridium. When working on one of the fixed digital services, the quality is no different than any other phone on the same type of service. I do wish, however, that a service cassette was available for the 800Mhz CDMA digital service as it is the most widely used digital service in the US. My service came with the GSM cassette because of where I was traveling, and when I used the fixed digital vs. Satellite, it was fairly lacking in coverage. I truly relate this mostly to being in Mexico where any wireless service is greatly lacking, although, even in the DFW area GSM coverage is quite limited.
The satellite service with Iridium provides truly worldwide coverage with only a few areas that are not covered by their satellite service. You buy your service via what is called a SIM card and currently the costs are pretty high; ranging up to $10.00 per minute depending on how that call is routed. For those accustomed to regular digital wireless service, you will notice a big difference in the clarity in using a satellite phone. First of all, there is a fairly obvious lag time in the transmission. Secondly, all the voices sound extremely digitized. Both of these take some getting used to, however, for anyone who has the need for a satellite phone, they should expect these small problems.
If you need a secure line, Motorola offers an encryption cassette that can be put in place of the fixed digital cassette. To use the encryption service, however, requires that both calling parties have phones set up with this encryption service.
The Motorola Satellite 9505 has many of the most popular features found in phones but is lacking in many of the obvious features that people expect in an every-day digital phone. The most obvious feature that is missing is the lack of a WAP compatible browser for wireless internet service. Although this is almost expected today, one has to remember that most people who use this type of phone are not normally interested in the ?bells and whistles? but in a phone that can provide emergency communications through out the world.
The phone book on the 9505 will hold up to 100 names and numbers. Even though this is not near the 200-500 entry listing of many other phones on the market, this is still a sufficient phone number memory for most people. The 9505 uses the same memory recall as most other Motorola phones, giving one touch dialing for up to 10 memory locations and speed dialing for all 100 memory locations. (Just press rcl 15 to dial memory location 15 or use the up/down arrow keys to scroll through the names.) One can use Motorola?s sync software to program the memory locations as well as other settings in the menu to expedite time and ease of use. Just plug in the phone with the optional data cable to your PC and download your address book into the phone. You can also download this information using an IR port at the top of the phone. This does require the IR compatible data kit be purchased separately.
The 9505 has the capability to operate in 21 different languages allowing this phone to be marketed around the world. I can see this feature being useful if you are using this phone in a foreign country and need to allow a ?local?? to use the phone.
The battery life on the 9505 is somewhat lacking, giving the operator only 24 hours of standby and about an hour of talk time. I suggest if you are using this phone to always keep a couple of back-up batteries charged and with you.
Of course, the 9505 has the standard features most people expect including ?vibra-call?, 16 ringers, a hands-free headset jack, caller-id compatibility, and the compatibility for many optional accessories.
Who Should Get This Phone?
With its $1500 dollar price tag and the high cost of satellite use minutes, the Motorola Satellite 9505 is not a phone for everyone. The most common user of this phone is the US government and military. I would suggest that anyone who works offshore, such as in an oil-rig, any international private pilots, or anyone who may travel in remote areas of the world, look into this phone. If the $1500 dollar price tag sounds a little high or if you are only temporarily traveling into an area where you think you may need this phone, I would suggest checking with the service carrier in the country that you will be traveling. In many countries, companies have sprung up to lease these phones out, and compared to buying this phone, leasing can be quite a bargain. In Mexico, for example, one can lease this line for about $25.00 US per day plus usage. We considered this quite a bargain when ballooning across Baja considering the alternative of running into trouble and having no communications.
