Thuraya X5-Touch is the world's first satellite smartphone

With the constant expansion of cellular radio grids, it is now considerably harder to get poor signals on modern smartphone models. Of course there still are “unclaimed” territories that do not benefit from any of the new technologies, so people who like to travel and visit all sorts of exotic locations might be wanting to use a satellite phone instead of a cellular one. Satellite phones offer guaranteed coverage all over the world, but they are significantly more expensive and heavier because of the special antenna they incorporate. Thuraya is one of the leading satellite phone makers and the Emirates company has just announced that it will be launching the world's first dual satellite/GSM Android smartphone.

The X5-Touch smartphone from Thuraya comes with a 5.2-inch FHD panel protected by a sheet of Gorilla Glass from Corning and the casing is IP67-certified, so it is resistant to water and dust. Since it is a dual-network phone, it also comes with dual SIM support, which allows for a quick switch between satellite and GSM modes.

Unfortunately, Thuraya did not provide any information about the SoC, RAM and storage capacity specs, but it did mention that the phone will integrate standard navigation features like GPS and Glonass/BeiDou satellite connections. Other specs include dual band WiFi + Bluetooth, NFC, a high amperage battery, front/rear cameras (no specs), plus a dedicated SOS button and advanced navigation hardware.

Availability info has not yet been disclosed for now. Judging by the prices of previous satellite phones from Thuraya, the X5-Touch could end up with a significantly high MSRP, even if the smartphone hardware is at most mid-range.

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