Travel Tech: Introducing Genus, the First Smartphone That Doubles as a Satellite Phone

By Keene Haywood

Satellite phones are the de facto way to keep in touch with the world when you are on the edges of it, where no other communication options are possible. However, sat phones have always been very expensive, bulky, and somewhat finicky even on a good day, let alone in a raging blizzard or hurricane. In recent years, the size of the phones have come down, but they are still mostly one trick ponies that do voice communications and some slow data and video transmissions (for a hefty per minute price tag). No apps or fancy touchscreens for your sat phone sorry to say. But that is about to change.

AT&T is teaming up with satellite phone service provider TerreStar to provide Genus, a smartphone that also can be used as a satellite phone. It is a clever hybrid that may appeal to those who spend a good bit of time beyond traditional cell connections but then venture back into the civilization and want a more traditional phone to use.

Find More Adventure: Two-in-One Adventure Map and Guide Adds New Destinations

Though we love GPS and mobile mapping apps, there is a timeless charm in a map that can go in the water, get dropped or smashed, and will never go dark due to battery issues. The National Geographic Maps' AdventureMap series, which is printed on waterproof tear-resistent paper, does even more by combining National Geographic cartography with detailed adventure travel information about national parks, surf spots, great hikes, and more. Starting this fall, Nat Geo Maps is adding nearly 60 top adventure travel destinations. The next map to be released will be Puerto Rico (November 2010), followed by Argentina, Bali/Lombok/Komodo, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador/Nicaragua/Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, and Thailand. The new AdventureMaps sell for $11.95 and will be available through National Geographic’s network of retailers worldwide and through National Geographic’s online store at shopng.com.

Travel Tech: EveryTrail iPhone App Review (Part 2)

By Keene Haywood
  
Yesterday I reviewed the Everytrail.com website and service that allows users to upload trail information from their GPS, annotating their travels with geotagged pictures, videos, and text. It is a very rich site offering many options for sharing and documenting your backcountry treks. One area where EveryTrail goes further is with their mobile app development. They offer apps for the iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Blackberry devices. Such an array of options gives just about every smartphone user the opportunity to use Everytrail on the go.

Today I will be looking at the iPhone app, in particular ,which does have many of the same features as the other smartphone apps. But it also has one that is unique to the iPhone, namely the ability to store Guides from the EveryTrail.com website. The EveryTrail app comes in two versions, a free one and a Pro version selling for $3.99 in the iTunes App store. A comparison link of the two versions can be found here.

If you are someone who spends a lot of time documenting your travels, then I would say the Pro version is money well spent. Among other things, the significant features of the Pro app is the ability to geotag video shot on your iPhone (the free app only does photos), sync trips with your account on the EveryTrail.com, download Guides and cache maps for offline use. This latter feature may be worth the $3.99 alone as many of us travel well beyond the reach of cell signals.

Field Expedition: Mongolia - Join Explorer Albert Lin's Groundbreaking Search

When we first introduced Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin in our Adventurers of the Year feature story last November, we were all blown away by his groundbreaking archaeological quest in northern Mongolia—you even gave him the Readers' Choice Award. Now you can literally be part of his expedition team with our new Field Expedition: Mongolia website.

By conducting a noninvasive archeological survey as never before—with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flyovers, ground-penetrating radar, remote sensors, satellite imagery, and even a 3-D virtual reality chamber—the team has redefined exploration and conservation. And while solving the 600-year-old mystery would, of course, be amazing, Lin's ultimate goal is to help preserve the region's significant cultural heritage (see a photo gallery from their previous expedition).

To do that, Lin's crew is currently on the ground in Mongolia's "Forbidden Zone" to continue their search—with some new tech toys, such as their "oktokopter" UAV (see it nearly crash into Lin in this video). But all the technology in the world can not make up for the skill of the human eye, so they are asking for your help. Think of it as a citizen science expedition team of 1,000 or 10,000 or as many people as we can recruit. The potential for discovery is astounding.

On the Field Expedition: Mongolia website you can examine real-time satellite photos to spot irregularities that the scientists on the ground should investigate. Lin's team will then report back with their findings. This crowd-sourcing technique has been used before—perhaps most notably in the search for Steve Fossett's lost airplane. We are hopeful that you will have a hand in helping preserve Mongolia's most sacred heritage. Follow their blog and sign up for newsletter updates.

Readers' Choice Adventurers of the Year: And the Winner Is...

Last November we introduced you to the 2009 Adventurers of the Year, recognized for their extraordinary achievements in exploration, conservation, actions sports, and humanitarian work. Their accomplishments ranged from the longest BASE jump ever to educating 10,000 women and girls in war-torn Afghanistan to rocketing 350 miles above the Earth to save a telescope. Then, for our first ever Readers’ Choice Adventurer of the Year Award, we asked you to vote for the person you felt best embodied the spirit of adventure. (See the entire Best of Adventure feature here.)

Today, with nearly 20,000 votes cast, we are thrilled to announce a tie. Both winners are equally impressive, but in entirely different ways. Explorer-engineer Albert Yu-Min Lin organized a high-risk expedition into Mongolia’s “Forbidden Zone” to search for the lost tomb of Genghis Khan using state-of-the-art mapping technology. Wounded Iraq war veteran Marc Hoffmeister led a team of soldiers, many missing limbs, up the dangerous West Buttress route on Denali. When we delivered the news to each winner, both assured us of one thing: They could not have done it alone—and their adventures continue.

Cartography 2.0: Volunteers Help Map Africa as Never Before

A high-tech mapping project canvasses the African bush

The lioness coughed, and Mark Eveleigh looked up from his laptop. There were seven of them, 400 pounds each—that’s 2,800 pounds of feline—staring right at him. Eveleigh was in northern Uganda helping create a map of Africa, and like so many before him, he was risking his life in the name of cartography. But unlike those early explorers, Eveleigh traveled with a satellite uplink and a GPS—not an astrolabe. 

Tech: The Future of Mapping with LIDAR (in Radiohead's House of Cards Video)

The known world has been charted, plotted, and endlessly measured. Or has it? A groundbreaking mapping technique is changing the way we see the planet.

From hand-drawn to digitally rendered, mapping has come a long way. And now LIDAR (light detection and ranging) is raising the bar. The technique uses laser pulses to construct über-precise 3-D images. It’s kind of like radar, constantly sending out and receiving signals, but LIDAR can map nearly anything. It can image clouds and penetrate forest canopies, measure plankton blooms and cut through water to chart riverbeds. It’s increasing the accuracy of aerial maps by an order of magnitude; indeed, the U.S. Geological Survey is currently working to remap every state with LIDAR. It’s even been used to make music videos—watch Radiohead’s “House of Cards."

Read more big, record-breaking, green, disease-busting, deep-sea, crime-fighting ideas for 2009 our October feature story "Adventure's Leading Edge" >>