Satellite

Apple recruits top Google satellite executives for whole new hardware team

Mark Gurman and Mark Bergen, reporting Friday for Bloomberg, have learned from sources who didn't wish to be named that Apple is in the process of starting a brand new hardware team for which it recruited a pair of top Google executives specialized in satellites for collecting images and those for communications.

It's unclear from the report what Apple's secretive new hardware team might be focusing on, but it could be inferred from the hirings that Tim Cook & Co. might be considering a satellite constellation of their own for either image collection or some sort of communications services.

Apple hires a satnav expert who holds a patent for preventing car collisions

Revered software engineer Sinisa Durekovic has joined Apple in an unspecified role in October, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing sources.

Durekovic was charged with managing the development of advanced satellite navigation systems used by luxury carmakers such as BMW AG, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen AG’s Audi, suggesting another possible mapping push for the Cupertino giant.

Thuraya’s new sleeve transforms your iPhone into a satellite phone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTEDgc2vu44#!

The United Arab Emirates-headquartered Thuraya has been in the mobile satellite services business literally as long as I can recall seeing their ads on MTV as a teenager. Thuraya operates in 140+ countries across Europe, the Middle East, North, Central and East Africa, Asia and Australia, covering two-thirds of the globe. Last summer, the company also started providing roaming services in the United States through its partnership with T-Mobile USA.

Because Thuraya has been selling pricey satellite phones and access to its global communications network for ages, their very first iPhone accessory launch is totally unexpected, but welcomed. The aptly named SatSleeve enables global satellite coverage for your iPhone by tapping an accompanying app to talk to the sleeve and route your text messages and phone calls through Thuraya’s network of satellites. Wait, there's more to this special case than meets the eye...