8848 High Speed Package

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Posted: Oct 13, 2008 07:14 pm EDT
(HumanEdgeTech.com) OmManiPadmaHum... more than flashes of genius; the mantra of expedition technology is like a repetitive Tibetan prayer to the Buddha of compassion: lower weight/lower price/better performance/easier to use... please! And then the chant starts all over again.

Most often the answers come bits by bits but we too have our giant leaps and here's one: the new 8848 deal.

The old deal

HumanEdgeTech is the only team in the world specializing on expedition technology, simply because the market is too small and too difficult for most. In order to understand it, you need to have experienced hands-on all the twists and turns of the severe hardship (not to mention tight budgets) that explorers suffer.

There have been a good number of problems to solve:

Solar panels were bulky, expensive, and didn't give much juice. Batteries wouldn't charge laptops, or recharge from solar. Laptops were heavy and fickle; their rotating hard drives crashing on altitude. Handheld sat phones were slow while BGANS were big, expensive and limited of coverage.

Besides that many search engines won't list subpages on blogging websites; uploads over ftp or blogging software timed out or required expensive updates in real time.

Untested office solutions brainstormed by armchair wizards and unpacked one hour outside of Kathmandu would give out - each time for yet another, new reason. People lugged barrels of gear, most expensive and brittle stuff, trusting their web masters at home to build sites in their spare time and stay up on summit pushes.

Second to thin air and rope fixing; technology was the biggest cause for headaches en route.

The new deal

Combined, the components of HET's brand new 8848 High Speed Package are a giant leap forward and here is why:

The 8848 package includes:

Wideye Sabre High Speed Modem

Wideye handset

ASUS EEE Solid State laptop with webcam

FEATHER 20 Solar Blazt

P50 Polymer battery

CONTACT Dispatch System

The entire setup is delivered in a single Pelican case and yet it offers all the possibilities you'd want at your office back home:

- voice calls
- live web conferencing
- web site and web site update
- alert systems
- SMS, www, email.

Full power; all included.

Just add airtime subscription and go. The gear is tested, synched, and comes with expedition-tailored manuals not to mention HET's famous expedition support (we've been there, remember).

God is in the details

- The 8848 package includes the Wideye Sabre. The unit price is half that of other BGAN units; at HET in turn the lowest we could find on the market after checking 10 different suppliers. Sabre is also the only BGAN delivered with a handset, allowing phone calls at no extra hardware cost.

- The 8848 package includes HET Power 50. The smartest battery on the market today solves the question, "how do I charge my laptop from a solar panel?" and replaces deep cycle led-acid batteries/generators. It allows you to choose 5-19V; important as many computers require 16-19 Voltage for charging. P50 will recharge from a small solar panel (!), and allows recharging while simultaneously charging your devices. P50 holds voltage until it completely runs out of juice, and comes with 8 adapter tips for most major brand computers and sat phones/BGANs. It is small enough to fit in your pocket and an approved flight carry on - doubling as a handy backup battery when not on expedition.

- The 8848 package includes ASUS EEE 901 Expedition solid-state laptop; the latest buzz in the PC world. This computer does not use the rotating hard drives crashing on altitude but a flash memory, such as is found in the PDAs. The tiny unit is very small and light, yet it's a full fledged computer with keyboard, screen and most of the right slots. The HET ASUS is customized with satellite communication software, CONTACT software, Email, Skype, Photo Editing, Video Editing and Open Office. With 5-7 hour of battery time, the ASUS Expedition is delivered with extra memory and solar charger adapter. Because of its durability and fast start-up time (less than 30 sec) it also doubles handsomely as a car computer when not on expedition.

- The 8848 package includes Solar Blazt Feather 20 the lightest and most efficient in portable solar energy available, at the best prices (we challenge you to prove us wrong!). Selected from the most innovative thin-film technologies in the world today, the panel has been displayed at MoMa in New York. It will fold down to the size of a thin notepad and charge your ASUS, sat phone, small dig cam, iPod etc all the way from BC to the summit. Charge straight to gadget; or to the P50. That way, you'll have power also on cloudy days. Feather 20 is enough to charge the package with 1-5 hours of laptop use per day (pending solar conditions) and could easily be extended by adding another panel.

- The 8848 package includes Contact 4.0 the award winning satellite software customized especially for expedition use. It allows off-line editing, video, images and podcasts (you don't even need an iPod) with fast transmissions cutting expensive airtime and eliminating timeouts. The software is built to safeguard reception of dispatches from the satellite networks, and operates from one of the world's most secure servers in Texas, US.

Expedition tested

Although very new; most parts of the package have been expedition tested already. HET had several ASUS in Himalaya and Pakistan (K2) this summer, with no altitude problems reported. We are still waiting for somebody to bring it to the summit of Everest 8848 meter and prove that it will actually work up there!

Sabre has been out as well, the solar panels are well known to most by now and so is the CONTACT dispatch system, used today not only by explorers but also by trekkers, aid organizations and scientists. "The simplicity of Contact's layout and simple connectivity to our chosen communication devices both for the pda's and laptops came into its own when instructional classes were held allowing easy simulation and then practical experience to be gained in no time at all," wrote a Royal Navy communications manager on Everest.

12 out of 14 South Pole skiing expeditions used CONTACT last season and 24 Everest expeditions used the software/hardware solutions this past spring. It's a soft system that can be embedded in private domains and adjusted to existing layout. Here is an example.

Price and Weight

At less than 4 kg (8.65Lbs)! the 8848 high-speed package stands out in terms of weight. But more important in these financial times; here's the new deal:

The 8848 package introduction price is $3999, all included.

Here go some of the previous stories detailing parts of the package:
High-Speed, Low-Cost: Wideye Sabre!
HumanEdgeTech proudly presents: P50 - the missing link
Solar Blazt: The New Generation of Mobile Solar Power
ExWeb proudly presents: Contact 4.0 GEO!
It's an iPhone? It's an iPAQ? It's...an 8000+ solid-state laptop!

Get the package here

Customization
You can buy parts of the package separately. HumanEdgeTech has supplied more than 1000 expeditions and work with single customers as well as with US and foreign governments. With its unique experience; team HET will assist you to find a solution for your specific needs.

HumanEdgeTech is a unique, no-nonsense virtual expedition tech warehouse for satellite communications and edge technology. Created by explorers for explorers, the store is user-friendly with no-hassle pricing, expedition-tested gear, expedition-ready hardware, fast delivery and payments. HumanEdgeTech.com accepts most international credit cards, and delivers worldwide within 72 hours.