I have had the original SPOT for close to a year now and extremely happy with the performance.

I thought about upgrading, good thing I do not do most things very quickly.... Just not sure I need to anyway. All most all my messages are sent, even under what I would call thick cover. The newer one; what I understand has a better GPS receiver. I never use my SPOT for tracking, that's what my Garmin is for, so if my messages go out to let the family know I'm OK, not sure I need to upgrade......

JohnN,
I' pretty sure the second one is like the first, which you are able to change the batteries in the field.

Doug

Thanks for posting. I was going to go down and buy a SPOT2. Esp. after the most recent tragedy on Mt Hood, I had decided to carry a locating device regularly when outdoors.

Looks like I'll wait until they release the improved version of the equipment.

other Pete

A pulse-load battery tester is the only reliable way to really know how much capacity is left. They work well for lithium batteries.

The SPOT has AA batteries that can be replaced in the field.