6. Pros

• Seriously rugged: water- temperature -and shock-proof; floats when dropped in water
• 24-hour support
• Unique feature set well suited to outdoor activities
• Flexible setup for alert message setup and recipients
• Extremely long battery life
• Partnership with GEOS Search & Rescue services
• Works in areas without cellular coverage
• Worldwide coverage
• Less expensive than Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs)
• 2-way communication lets you send "I'm OK" or "HELP" messages from the device
• Friends and family can view your position on Google Maps (provided you give them access)

7. Cons

• GPS Satellite receiver not as sensitive as most modern handhelds; required unobstructed line-of-sight to the sky to work properly
• Could not track indoors, in urban environments, in a vehicle, or in a jacket pocket
• No way to tell of a message was successfully sent or not
• Poor documentation
• Thumbscrews for battery compartment difficult to open outdoors (impossible while wearing gloves)
• No Geofencing support

8. Conclusion

SPOT's Satellite Messenger is a unique product with a feature set that could be a dream come true for both outdoor swashbucklers as well as their concerned family and friends.

SPOT's bright, red design and ultra-rugged specifications make it clear the unit is designed for some seriously harsh conditions. Battery life is outstanding, lasting for weeks of regular use.

Unfortunately, I found the GPS sensitivity poor relative to other GPS units on the market, and I was only able to get the unit to function properly by standing outdoors with a clear, unobstructed line-of-sight to the sky. Even moderate tree cover prevented the unit from getting reliable signals, and I was totally unsuccessful getting the unit to work at all in New York City -- indoors or outdoors, nor was I able to receive GPS signals inside a vehicle, or when carrying SPOT around in my jacket pocket.

One of the most exciting features of SPOT is the ability to perform real-time tracking and let friends and family check-in on your location (SPOTcasting). However, this feature's utility is greatly reduced by the poor GPS performance; you'd almost have to tape the unit to your head and be walking in a bare field to get solid tracking.

It wasn't always 100% clear whether the issue was poor GPS reception, or SPOT's own network reception. There are no reception indicators on the device, so there was no way of telling exactly why reception was so spotty.

Which brings me to my next complaint with SPOT: the LED signals are unclear at times. LEDs appeared to be blinking green and indicating everything was working fine, even when I had no GPS signal at all and messages were not being sent. There was no visual indication whether the unit had successfully sent a message or not, or whether the GPS was receiving signals and tracking my position. If you were really in a life-threatening emergency, you'd want some sort of confirmation that the device has successfully notified someone and the cavalry is on its way.

SPOT's 24-hour customer support answered my calls quickly and was friendly, but provided inaccurate information and didn't know how to perform basic functions like resetting a password.

SPOT is a good fit for strictly outdoor use and could be a great way for hikers, boy scouts, boaters, etc., to let friends and family know they're ok. SPOT provides an additional level of security in an emergency situation, and did work even in areas without cell phone coverage (provided I placed the unit in direct view of the sky and waited a few minutes.

SPOT is a niche product that will please those looking for an inexpensive alternative to Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), but GPS and/or Globalstar's network reception were simply too poor to recommend SPOT for tracking loved ones during normal daily activities.

SPOT is a decent product that could be made into a great product by improving the onboard GPS receiver and making it clearer when the device is operating properly.