The key differentiators are reliability and usability.
Reliability:
The Thuraya XT is the only satellite phone in the market complying with IP54/IK03 standards, which makes it the toughest and most reliable satellite SAT-phone. Thuraya XT’s durable battery provides up to 6 hours talk-time and up to 80 hours standby-time.
Usability:
The Thuraya XT has an advanced menu with many features, such as an organizer or GPS-waypoint-navigation. It features a large 2-inch/5cm advanced glare-resistant display (with brightness sensor) which improves outdoor visibility in direct sunlight. Perfectly balanced weight-to-size ratio allows comfortable handling in all situations.
IP and IK are international industrial standards referring to degrees of ‘ingress protection’ for electrical devices. The IP standard is defined in the international standard IEC 60529 (equivalent of the European standard EN 60529). The IK standard is defined in the international standard IEC 62262:2002 (equivalent of the European standard EN 62262).
IP54 standard: First digit 54. Dust-protected. Full protection against interior injurious dust. That means dust cannot harm the operation of the phone. Second digit 54. Splash resistant. Protected against splashed water from all directions. That means splashed water cannot harm the operation of the phone.
IK03 standard: Shock proof. Phone can withstand impacts of up to 0.35 joule. That means impacts of up to 0.35 joule cannot harm the phone.
The external casing of the Thuraya XT is crafted from the latest polycarbonates in the industry, which are extremely robust. Internal components are shielded with aluminum and the connectors are protected with rubber seals to prevent damage from water splash or dust.
The Thuraya XT weighs 193 grams and measures 128 x 53 x 26.5mm (l x w x d).
The menu of the Thuraya XT supports 12 standard languages, including English; Arabic; French; German; Italian; Spanish; Portuguese; Turkish; Russian; Farsi; Hindi; and Urdu. Additionally, there is a separate firmware version available which supports English-Chinese.
The Thuraya XT phone-box includes the following components: Thuraya XT phone, heavy-duty-battery, travel charger (incl. 3 adaptors for EU, UK, China), earset, USB data cable, spare antenna plugs, quick start guide (14 languages), user guide (English), support-CD, accessory catalogue and a warranty card.
The support-CD which comes with every new handset contains:
The Thuraya XT has the following connectors: UDC (USB), ear jack, DC power, external antenna and the connector for the battery.
Thuraya SIM cards working on other Thuraya handsets will also work with the Thuraya XT.
All available Thuraya scratch-cards can be used to recharge the Thuraya XT.
The Thuraya XT can also be operated with a GSM SIM-card in satellite roaming mode. Please check with your GSM SIM-card provider for the latest roaming charges.
The Thuraya XT uses an advanced heavy-duty-battery which allows talk-time of up to 6 hours and standby-time of up to 80 hours.
The average charging time of an empty Thuraya XT battery is approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes.
The display of the Thuraya XT is a 2 inch (5 cm) TFT-display with 262,000 colors and 176 x 220 pixels.
The brightness-sensor on top of the display regulates the brightness of the display according to ambient lighting conditions. In dark environments the backlight of the display will be reduced, while backlighting will be increased in bright sunlight to provide optimal visibility. This also contributes to reduced battery consumption and thereby increases talk-time and standby-time.
The Thuraya XT’s combination of a glare resistant display with the high-contrast font and background of the graphic user interface greatly enhances visibility in direct sunlight.
The Thuraya XT features GPS navigation, which allows you to create and manage waypoints. These can be used to navigate from a fixed location to various waypoints, showing the distance and direction to each. Additionally, you can use location tracking by automatically saving your GPS coordinates in fixed intervals which will allow you to create a track of your route.
The GPS navigation can only be initiated by the handset user – unwanted tracking cannot be remotely executed by third parties.You can, however, trigger the Location Based Service by transmitting your own coordinates to other telephones or computers. This functionality can be used in case of emergency or if you want to be monitored by your organization or by other individuals.
The required operating system of connected PCs or laptops is Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows 7 (in Vista compatibility mode).
You can connect your Thuraya XT to a laptop or PC and establish a data connection via the included USB data cable. This will allow you to use the browser of your laptop or PC.
In order to use a GmPRS connection via your Thuraya XT, you need to connect your Thuraya XT to a PC via USB data cable. You then need to establish a dial-up connection in your computer, just as you would connect to the Internet via a modem. (the standard dial-up code is *99#, please refer to the manual of your computer or modem for further details).
The maximum GmPRS speed (Packet Data) of your Thuraya XT is as follows: Download: 60 kbit/s. Upload: 15 kbit/s.
The maximum Data/Fax speed (Circuit Switched Data) of your Thuraya XT is as follows: Download: 9.6 kbit/s. Upload: 9.6 kbit/s).
Yes, Thuraya XT has an advanced messaging service which also allows sending and receiving of e-mails. For details about how to set up the e-mail client please refer to the user manual.
There are a number of accessories which add even more functionality to your Thuraya satellite phone. These include: Car chargers, Travel chargers, USB Data Cables, Spare Batteries, Fixed Docking Units (FDU-XT) and Vehicle Docking Units (SAT-VDA and SAT-DOCKER).
Thuraya provides satellite phone coverage in more than 159 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. The full list of countries can be found at www.thuraya.com.
The end-customer warranty is 12 months from date of purchase and requires a fully filled warranty card.
Please contact the Service Provider you purchased your Thuraya XT from. The Service Provider will assist you with any problem related to the handset.
No, due to the electrical specifications only correct Thuraya Power Adapters shall be used to avoid damages of the phone and void warranty. Spare Power Adapters can be purchased in case the original Thuraya Power Adapter is lost or damaged.
The standard APN for GmPRS services on Thuraya handsets is ‘GET’. To increase the speed when loading websites you can also use one of Thuraya’s APNs with built-in compression: the APN ‘GETLC’ provides low compression rates (images on websites will be compressed), and the APN ‘GETHC’ provides high compression rates (images will not be downloaded to reduce website loading time). Depending on your requirements, select the most suitable APN in the GmPRS settings on your Thuraya handset.
255 contacts can be stored in the phone memory. The number of contacts that can be stored on the SIM card depends on the type of SIM card being used, a typical Thuraya SIM card can store 250 contacts.