Motorola’s “Satellite Link” hotspot lets you send messages via outer space

The Motorola Hotspot. It connects to the satellite network and has Bluetooth. That’s it.

If you’re still jealous of the iPhone 14’s ability to do satellite messaging, Motorola has a Bluetooth accessory that will help you feel less left out. The Motorola Defy Satellite Link is officially for sale today, following its announcement in February. This is basically a satellite messaging hotspot—it’s a box with Bluetooth, a battery, and a chip that will give you a satellite connection. You pair your phone to it, run the app, and you can start firing text messages into outer space. The hotspot is $150 and will work today on Android and iOS devices in the US.

The iPhone 14 made satellite messaging the hot new thing when it was announced last year, and competitors are just starting to appear. The big difference between Motorola’s hotspot and an iPhone (and the reason why you might want Motorola’s option even if you have an iPhone 14) is that the iPhone 14 only sends a specially crafted SOS message to emergency services—a keyboard is not involved in the process at all, it’s just for emergency usage. The Motorola hotspot is not just for emergencies. It does full-blown messaging, where you can type whatever message you want to whoever you want, but via a satellite instead of the usual cellular network.

Motorola’s messaging service works just like SMS, but it can only be delivered to other people running the special Bullitt Satellite Messenger app. The service will do SMS forwarding, though, so if you punch in a random number, that person will receive a message prompting them to download the Bullitt app so they can talk to you. It’s probably best to set this up with someone beforehand, but it sounds like a great way to communicate when you’re off the grid.