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It's been just shy of a year since TerreStar's Windows Mobile-based Genus was announced for AT&T, offering a unique combination of GSM / HSPA backed up with satellite capability for those times when you find yourself in the middle of nowhere; in fact, you may have assumed that it had already been released by now. After all, this isn't the phone for 97 percent of the population -- it runs Windows Mobile and still works in places where us soft city folk would never dream of going -- so odd... s are good you never bothered to follow up on it. Fact is, though, it's just now available for the first time today, so as long as you've got a line of sight to TerreStar's bird and a willingness to tolerate WinMo 6.5.3, you'll be able to make and receive calls throughout the US, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and in the surrounding waters -- and it's all on one telephone number. Of course, having a single number eliminates the cool factor of being able to say "if you can't reach me, try my sat phone," but let's be honest: convenience wins here. Right now, the phone's only available to business and government users... and with $799 upfront for the phone and satellite service running $25 a month plus per-minute, per-message, and per-megabyte charges of 65 cents, 40 cents, and 5 dollars, respectively, that's probably for the best. Follow the break for AT&T's full press release.

Continue reading TerreStar Genus hybrid satellite phone hits AT&T at long last for $799

TerreStar Genus hybrid satellite phone hits AT&T at long last for $799 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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