Zoleo leaves nowhere to hide

There are times you want to shrink to invisibility in this world. Then there are times you want the whole planet to find you.

Zoleo ... so the world can find you

There are times you want to shrink to invisibility in this world. Then there are times you want the whole planet to find you. Zoleo, a phone-sized device, is for the latter.

You could be hiking in a remote part of Australia, away from cellular coverage. You could be in a bushfire or flood zone, or on a cruise ship out on the ocean. Then again, you may be in the city or lying on the couch at home. People can find you, you can text them and they can text you.

Melbourne-based telecommunications firm Beam Communications says it designed Zoleo to work seamlessly with satellite, cellular and
wi-fi coverage and automatically switch between the three modes.

Zoleo uses the Iridium low-orbiting satellite network, which the company says provides complete coverage of the globe through 66 interlinked low-earth orbit satellites.

Zoleo ... so the world can find you

Strictly speaking it’s not stand-alone. Zoleo links to an Apple or Android phone by Bluetooth, and lets a regular phone handle wi-fi and cellular communications. It automatically senses when the phone cannot connect and automatically switches to satellite.

The company says the system also will automatically switch to satellite communications if you are in another country and not linked to their local cellular network.

Beam Communications says Zoleo offers personal safety features such as check-in, where it sends a message with your GPS coordinates to two preselected contacts, weather forecasts and 24/7 worldwide SMS alerts.

You can send long text messages of up to 950 characters, the device provides more than 200 hours of battery life, and it operates in temperatures from -20C to 55C. The one limitation is that the sky must be visible, so it won’t work in an underground cave.

Zoleo retails for a recommended $345, and monthly satellite messaging plans range from $32 to $80.