We hear a lot of buzz about how technology is responsible for anti-social behavior or ADD, or that mobile phones cause cancer, etc. With so much negative press out there, it’s actually heartening to see cellular tech actually do some good.
Case in point: After the devastating earthquake hit Haiti, a Canadian woman stuck under a pile of rubble hailed her own rescue by texting the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa. The agency - which was roughly 3,000 miles away! — immediately contacted Canadian diplomats in Haiti, who launched a search for the trapped earthquake victim. Luckily, when they finally managed to locate her, she was still alive.
As for why she chose to text instead of call — well, that’s kind of a mystery. But if I’m ever trapped under rubble, with a voice probably silenced by a throat full of dust and dirt, I’d definitely want multiple ways of sending for help too.
This makes me wonder about touchscreen-only devices. In a calamity, how rugged are they? (It’s not likely she could’ve texted on a virtual keyboard with a shattered display, right?) While I’m not ready to give up my iPhone yet, having a secondary little clamshell with a hardware QWERTY is starting to sound like a good idea. (LG Lotus Elite, anyone?)
Via: ABC, PhoneArena, Gizmodo
