In this photo illustration, a Motorola logo seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background. (Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The race to connect smartphone users with satellites just got a little more crowded. British mobile company Bullitt is releasing a satellite-enabled smartphone with 5G connectivity and a 6.6 inch-display. It will come in two versions: the Caterpillar-branded Cat S75 and the "rugged" Motorola Defy 2, which may be more familiar to North American outdoor enthusiasts.
"Adding assured connectivity with two-way satellite messaging broadens the appeal of the Motorola Defy 2 to anyone who finds themselves outside of traditional messaging coverage," said Dave Carroll, the vice president of strategic brand partnerships at Motorola. "We look forward to bringing the Motorola Defy 2 to a new segment of mobile phone users in the coming months."
The phone will be able to beam messages a distance of 22,000 miles to satellites orbiting above the equator, which will then be sent back down as standard SMS messages.
The upside for consumers is that their phones will now have connectivity in the large sections of the planet that still have limited or no connectivity.
This kind of satellite connectivity is becoming more common in the mobile market. Apple's iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro models, for instance, allow Emergency SOS via satellite. Apple is also spending $450 million to expand its satellite networking infrastructure.
In addition, chipmaker Qualcomm is working with communications giant Iridium to bring satellite connectivity to Android phones using new Snapdragon chips.
"This is the definition of democratizing satellite communications and ensures customers are able to be in constant communication whenever they need it," said Dave Floyd, co-founder of Bullitt
Joe Cecela, Dream Exchange CEO, explains how they are aiming to form the first minority-controlled company to operate an exchange in U.S. history. Watch!
A Michigan judge is putting sponges in the hands of shoplifters and ordering them to wash cars in a Walmart parking lot when spring weather arrives. Genesee County Judge Jeffrey Clothier hopes the unusual form of community service discourages people from stealing from Walmart. The judge also wants to reward shoppers with free car washes. Clothier says he began ordering “Walmart wash” sentences this week for shoplifting at the store in Grand Blanc Township. He believes 75 to 100 people eventually will be ordered to wash cars this spring. Clothier says he will be washing cars alongside them when the time comes.
The State Department had been in talks with Elon Musk’s Tesla company to buy armored electric vehicles, but the plans have been put on hold by the Trump administration after reports emerged about a potential $400 million purchase. A State Department spokesperson said the electric car company owned by Musk was the only one that expressed interest back in May 2024. The deal with Tesla was only in its planning phases but it was forecast to be the largest contract of the year. It shows how some of his wealth has come and was still expected to come from taxpayers.
At 100 years old, the Goodyear Blimp is an ageless star in the sky. The 246-foot-long airship will be in the background of the Daytona 500 — flying roughly 1,500 feet above Daytona International Speedway, actually — to celebrate its greatest anniversary tour. Even though remote camera technologies are improving regularly and changing the landscape of aerial footage, the blimp continues to carve out a niche. At Daytona, with the usual 40-car field racing around a 2½-mile superspeedway, views from the blimp aptly provide the scope of the event.
You'll just have to wait for interest rates (and prices) to go down. Plus, this deal's a steel, the big carmaker wedding is off, and bribery is back, baby!
