Et al,
I have been back and forth lately over getting either a sat phone or a Garmin inReach. After researching the current inReach models in stores right now that are going for $399 and $499, I found a website called GPS City that has the inReach SE model for $219 and free shipping. This gives you all the texting/tracking capability of the latest inReach models but much cheaper.
See the URL below if interested...
http://www.gpscity.com/delorme-inreach-se
http://www.gpscity.com/delorme-inreach-se