Delorme Inreach feedback?

Just wondering if any inmates have one, and what are there thoughts. Not released here in OZ but seriously considering getting one if they are as good as they sound. Otherwise might have to settle for a SPOT 2.
Cheers

Bump - because I'm looking at one too.

Just picked one up. Have not been on a trip with it yet but have been playing with it around the neighborhood.

The map seems easy to share and is configurable.

The tracker itself worked in some rather overgrown areas even when it was tucked safely in my jacket pocket.

So far so good. As of yet no buyers remorse.

I just found these after I ordered my Spot 2 they look like fantastic units!! Oh well I'll save it for next time

Took the inReach out for a little ride last night.

Here's a link to the "Public Map" as an example of what people following you will see

inReach Map

A couple things, I'll start with the complaints:

1) The shared site will display every trip you have taken. There isn't a way to say, display the points from this period of time to this period of time, skip this trip. etc. If I want to turn off the shared trips, I have to go into the admin page and set "Only show events after" to a day or two in the future.

2) The shared map does strange things in google chrome. In chrome the map draws direction lines to random points making what would normally be a logical flow quite a bit more hectic. Firefox, Safari, Opera, (The latter two are common on mobile devices) work, most of the time. Opera and Safari have failed to load with html errors. Then worked again a few minutes later, then failed. I assume that is a bug that will be fixed going forward and so far unconcerned about it

3) The Mapshare page seems to start with the widest zoom out possible. Not really a bug, just annoying. Also to display one's track you must click the little + sign by the name. I understand why the coders did this, especially if the page follows multiple devices. Still, it should be an option to set in the admin page itself

The good

1) the Ram Mount for the device hasn't arrived yet. So the delorme inReach was running in my tank bag all zipped up next to my camera. There was no direct line of sight for the device and it still recorded through lots of over growth, river valley, and urban jungle.

2) I have the Android version and choose to not pair it with my device. I have done test rides with the pairing on and off. For me, having the inReach be it's own entity is ideal, if I need to send a message I'll pair it up. I like having the severability option.

3) It really isn't that big. (that's what she said... ) ugg.. At first I thought it was just an unwieldly lump of black plastic but playing around with mounting options and finally just chucking the device in my tank bag it went out of site and out of mind.

That's what I know, I'm sure I'll come up with some more thoughts later.

I am interested to know about the battery life. Let me know what you think

Just picked one up recently, not yet activated. Got a RAM mount too for the handlebars. And LOTs of lithium batteries at Sams Club. The only ones that are offically supported. I already had a Delorme PN-60W, so I chose the matching Inreach for my GPS.

Will report once I get some rides done.

FYI, the Inreach is over $50 less at Amazon than buying from Delorme. Plus free shipping and no tax. Big deal IMO.

http://www.amazon.com/DeLorme-AG-008374-201-Satellite-Communicator-Earthmate/dp/B005N4B9AI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1333652076&sr=8-2

I bought one and returned it.

- the tracking was too expensive (in Canada, states it is cheaper)
- pairing with android phone was not reliable. In a number of cases field testing, I could not get it to pair at all. A PIA.
- although message confirmation was very good

If the plans in Canada were the same price as the states, I would have probably kept the inreach. I purchased a SPOT 2 instead. Although the SPOT 2 messaging is not 100% reliable, and there is no confirmation of messages being received, I am able to live with these limitations as I carry a PLB and sat phone. The SPOT 2 does pretty well in the dense forest we have in on the west coast. I am quite pleased with it.

Have sent probably hundreds of txt msgs with it. It's not as convenient as it could be but it works if it can get a view to the sky.
Pairing it with the droid phone is a pain in the butt. Sometimes have to turn the inreach off, make sure pairing is on on the droid, relaunch software, then check. When it sends sms txt it sends it via an unfamiliar number to the recipient so you must instruct them that any conversation will be carried out with the phone number sent along. DON'T respond to your regular cell number, it will not get there. Been fairly reliable, just not simple. SHould be simple to just plug in like a flip vid to a computer and get a message out, pull out messages downloaded. Pairing and software issues can be bs but the device works great in the sticks.

Been playing with this device more and more.

In standalone mode it works but lacks most of the messaging capabilities that would normally classify it as "Gee Whiz Technology"

Perhaps I'm doing something wrong, but it's a mother of a bastard to pair with my android (Samsung Captivate).

I'll talk with Delorme tech support on Monday, but in the mean time I'm giving this bit of technology a firm :huh rating

I've been looking at Delorme, Spot and a ham radio thingy because I ride alone
and don't always have cell service. I have a PN 60 and really like the unit.
Don't know much about any of them, but I feel I need a locator beacon of some sort. I hate to pay for a yearly service when I wouldn't use it all the time.

I've had a touch of trouble with my Delorme inReach and pairing with my Android phone.

The problem isn't the inReach itself, in fact it seems to work great as a tracker in stand-alone mode. My issues result when it comes time to pair and use my phone to send custom messages.

In those cases one can get a "BlueTooth Error" or "Incorrect PIN or passcode" Though a lot of trial and error I figured out a way to get my phone around that problem and posted the findings on Delorme's tech support forum.

Hope it helps some of you:

http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?f=232&t=29658&start=30

Used the InReach several times now on solo trips to keep my wife in the loop and not worried.

Works like a champ.

Update, my Delorme inReach was replaced via RMA. Works much better now.

I'm looking at either one of these to pair with my Droid X, or a SPOT unit. I hadn't considered the DeLorme unit until reading this thread, so keep talking/typing and maybe you'll convince me to drop the extra $$$ on the DeLorme unit..

I'm looking to buy one or the other fairly soon. Got a couple of trips lined-up and want to have this part figured out before I hit the road later this Summer..

Thanks.

John

edit: Ack. Told my wife that I was thinking about getting one of these units and she got an annoyed look on her face. Then she told me she ordered me a SPOT from REI last night. First-world problems. :)

USed the Delorme on a recent run through Canadia and back. It worked well. I get about 50 hours of riding time with Lithium batteries (Updating points ever 10 minutes) 20 hours with Regular Alk or Nickle batteries.

I switched mid trip from 10 minute marks to 30 minute which extended battery life. Despite the fixes in firmware I still tend to run the device in stand-alone mode, just easier than having to run my android phone with full GPS and bluetooth active.

I think the delorme is better than the spot simply because it uses a better Satellite network. But the spot is cheaper. YMMV

Just bought an InReach for my Android Atrix today. $199 with the 20% discount that EMS is offering. The new seasonal data plans make the InReach a lot more attractive (to me). 4 months of tracking and 40 Iridium messages/month for $39.00 per month. The I can go month to month at $39 or suspend at no cost for the rest of the year and then start over with 4 months at my anniversary date.

No issues at all pairing and connecting with my phone. I have used some test messages and abit of tracking - no issues. I am a very happy camper. Will report back in a week since I am headed out for a week on the road on Saturday but so far I am pleasantly surprised - none of the problems with pairing and connecting for me. I have also downloaded most of the east cost and Canada maps to my phone. Nice quality TOPO comes "free" as part of my subscription.

When you exit the Earthmate application on an Android device, use the menu - exit command to close the application rather than just backing out of it. I have had 100% reliability with BT connectivity using this method. It is more hit or miss if I just back out of the application because Earthmate does leave things running in the background. Moral of the story for me - if I turn off the InReach and use menu - exit I have no problems reconnecting later.

Just finished 1200 miles with the InReach and I am very pleased with it in all respects. Tracking and the map application worked well for the family to follow my progress. Battery life is excellent - over a week and still going strong on the original batteries. Messaging with my Motorola Atrix (Droid) has been flawless. Prerecorded messages are also excellent. Every message sent and received has gotten through within a minute or two - from here to satellite and back again.

The unit got wet and no issues - it seems quite rugged. Works very well in a RAM mount I use for my two way radio when I am cruising with the SO. Since I was solo this trip I didn't need the radio.

Just another data point.

I had high hopes for the inreach, but was let down.

* The subscription costs in Canada are way more expensive that the US
* Bluetooth pairing did not work reliably with any of my three devices - I was told to purchase a new phone
* text messages sent to an inreach are subject to a delay, anywhere from a few minutes to a day!

In the end, *reliable* two way messaging was just not there.

I returned the InReach and bought a Spot II. Although spot does not guarantee messages sent, and this was a little worrying to me, especially in the dense forests up north, it has worked out just fine. A couple of messages lost, but not critical. However I do not rely upon the spot system, it is only used as supplimentary information in case a rescue is needed. I do carry a PLB and a sat phone for the real emergencies.