As we all know the Australian outback is a truly great touring destination however it can be a bit tough on your vehicle and RV and if you are unlucky enough to have a problem then the last thing you need is no communication options.
Mobile phones are very much part of everyday life but rely on a phone tower and signal and those connection items are all too often missing in most of the Australian Outback. To have that safety net and peace of mind when touring, then the best option has always been a Sat Phone but they can be expensive and require a certain amount of paper work to acquire. However, Optus now have a rather clever alternative, the Optus Thuraya Sat Sleeve+.
While on our recent Birdsville trip the OTR team were fortunate enough to be able to ‘test drive’ the Optus Thuraya SatSleeve+ and bring to you our readers the findings of our three weeks away outback.
The Optus Thuraya SatSleeve+ is a universal smartphone adaptor which turns your smartphone into a satellite smartphone at a reasonable price and gives you that very satisfying peace of mind when travelling beyond the black stump.
Firstly, it is very important to download the ‘SatSleeve+ Hotspot’ app to your smartphone before you travel or whilst you have a very strong communication signal.
Once this was done and making sure that the SatSleeve+ was fully charged we were ready to head off on the road. (pardon the pun!)
There were many occasions on this trip when there was no mobile reception where we had a need to call home/office hence we ‘test drove’ the SatSleeve+. It was easy, simply sliding the smartphone into the SatSleeve+ and connecting phone and sleeve together and then call away. We could also retrieve emails, messages, check social media and upload data just by using the SatSleeve+ and smartphone technology.
Finding and connecting to the satellite sometimes took a few minutes but we always found our ‘bird’ and once connected it worked a treat. We also found it better to connect when we were not driving however we did complete a number of calls whilst travelling.
The Optus Thuraya SatSleeve+ is compatible with iPhone and Android devices and retails for only $888. Our team would happily recommend the Optus Thuraya SatSleeve+ as a useful communication tool for staying in touch with family, friends or work colleagues when travelling in the outback and a safety device that is well worth considering.
For more information visit OptusSatelliteSales@optus.com.au
Article from ontheroadmagazine
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Comments 5
I have a Sat Sleeve and think it’s the best thing I ever bought, it gives you a feeling of safety, only thing to remember is if you don’t have clear open sky above you it won’t work, things like trees, buildings, even a lot of cloud cover will prevent you from connecting to the Satellite, but this the case with any Sat Phone.
Excellent point Dennis.
Hmm more expensive that the dedicated, ruggedized Inmarsat dedicated sat phone I purchased. Clearly the recommendation is a paid product endorsement.
Hi Greg, we simply reshared this article from “On the Road Magazine”. You can find the original article here: https://ontheroadmagazine.com.au/transform-smartphone-satellite-phone/.
We cannot speak for “On the Road Magazine” but we as Club 4X4 have no affiliation with the product.
Hope that helps clear things up.
We also own The Optus Thuraya SatSleeve+ too and it really does give you peace of mind when you are on the road. We haven’t had to use it yet but if we ever need to use it it will be the best $888 spent.