Starlink stuffs the internet into a backpack by invitation only SpaceX is inviting some customers to buy a new Starlink Mini receiver for its satellite broadband service offered as a portable option, with an introductory price tag of $599 in the US. Customer emails sent by the space company this week invited select customers to buy its latest antenna, described as a "compact, portable kit …
It is doubtful any will allow data at all, and if they do it will be very slow and very expensive.
You don't really believe that it is possible to get acceptable data speeds using an internal antenna on a phone that's communicating with a moving target several hundred miles in the air, do you? "I'm sorry cap'n, but its ag'inst the laws of physics!"
Starlink's "mini" terminal is still the size of a serving plate.
> You don't really believe that it is possible to get acceptable data speeds using an internal antenna on a phone that's communicating with a moving target several hundred miles in the air, do you?
Of course not.
Which is why you wear the 5G Silver[1] Sat Gloves, a stylish accessory for the Modern Road Warrior. An app will show how to hold the phone in between the tops of your wrists as you arrange your fingers into a parabola focussed on the antenna. Best results are to be had if you practice smoothly rotating your hips to follow the satellite track across the sky.
For the follically challenged gentleman, a paint-on coating is also available, which places the focus just under the chin. Sadly, this does mean you have to perform a handstand if you are too close to the equator (more moderate climes allow you to relax on a lounger with you feet in the air).
[1] Gold also available, as an upgrade.
Which is why you wear the 5G Silver[1] Sat Gloves, a stylish accessory for the Modern Road Warrior
Don't be silly. The determined Road Surfer will wear the Sat Hat. Also acts as a small umbrella, rain water collector and includes a wind turbine blade to charge on the go. Underside is coated with a layer of metal to block harmful radiation for safer surfing. As your Neurolink implant will communicate via satellite or mobile, it will not impede it's ability to receive updates.
In the US in particular, Starlink Mini is limited to users with residential plans.
It's also available by default with a $30 mini plan that's uncancellable without contacting support for now(anyone who has the service knows that's an issue)
That $30 dollar plan has a data limit of 50GB per month with $1 per GB overages. If you want unlimited data that's $250 a month available by manual request for now.
We don't know about the global licensing story, so the dish might not be possible to use abroad.
In motion use is currently disabled (I think they should limit this to military users)
That's all I can remember for now
It's not unlikely that they have to lower the transmit bit rate i.e. increase the power/baud allocated to each mini terminal.
No issue where there are few users, but a straight up halving of the number of paying customers where the footprint is full.
Let's try streaming 4K movies with regular fixed Starlink first. And maybe add VOIP calls which don't stop and stutter.
Sure, it was all great at first coming out of the beta period, but as the service ramped up with more users the performance has dropped. Oh, and just because the Starlink app reports download speeds >100Mb/s doesn't mean 4k video actually streams without buffering. Pretty sure there is some magic math on the back end for that in-product test metric.
And besides, can I just point out that if you're out camping, why don't you, gosh, take in the view ? Get off that fucking screen for a while ?
In all seriousness though, having a portable access to the Internet is a good idea. That would help solve a number of connectivity problems for people who get into trouble in the wilderness, or people who are in a disaster zone and need to coordinate the emergency.
So yes on the tech, but could we please stop inviting people to keep their eyes glued on a slab of toxic materials when they have the beauty of Nature (with a capital, please) in front of said eyes ?
They don't need encouragement.
Back pack? Obvuiously, Musk is not spending enough time at Starlink R&D - for if he were, Starlink would be offering a device of a similar form factor to the devices used by U.N.C.L.E agents by now. Starlink need to offer Musk a better incentive plan than Tesla to retain his talents for the benefit of Starlink
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