Get Wi-Fi anywhere in the world

Want to get email on your iPhone or BlackBerry in the middle of the ocean, or in the Arctic? Now you can — but it'll cost you.

Satellite phone company Iridium Communications said that it is launching a cigarette-pack-sized box that connects to an Iridium phone. The box produces a Wi-Fi hotspot that smartphones and tablet computers can connect to. The phone relays that connection to satellites overhead, which then shunt the signal to a ground station connected to the Internet. The data speeds will be slower than dial-up, but they should be good enough for meaningful use of email, Iridium CEO Matt Desch said. Iridium said the AxcessPoint will cost less than $200, but it needs to be paired with a phone that costs about $1,000. The data connection will cost about $1 per minute.