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For a guy trapped in earthquake rubble, there was an app for that

nbs2

nbs2

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Summary: Guy is in Haiti documenting poverty; gets trapped in the earthquake. Uses his iPhone to self-diagnose, perform first aid, get to safety, and write a message to his family.

My kind of embarrassing first thought - how did the battery last so long?😱

Honestly, though, it is impressive to think about how much utility technology provides for us on a daily basis, and yet we just take it for granted and complain about the little features.
 
I'm glad I read your post before I commented on your title because it comes off as insensitive and inane. However, the story is nice.
 
My first thought is that I can't type on the touch screen under the best of conditions, I can't imagine trying to do it in earthquake aftermath.
 
For what it's worth, I didn't read the title as being offensive. The story was exactly what I expected: someone trapped using his iPhone to summon help or communicate with the outside.
 
notjustjay said:
For what it's worth, I didn't read the title as being offensive. The story was exactly what I expected: someone trapped using his iPhone to summon help or communicate with the outside.
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I had changed it. While I didn't think of it as offensive, it may have been Too Soon.
 
instaxgirl said:
I'm surprised the battery lasted 65 hours with an alarm set every 20 minutes.

*downloads first aid app*
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Turn off all radios and leave it at low lighting settings and you can well go over 65 hours. Remember, the iPhone has ~300hrs standby with radios on, much more with them off.
 
Thanks for the post OP. I am not a die hard fan of any company, however I will use this link to needle my co-worker who just got a new HTC Tilt 2 just for fun😀
 
It's an interesting article but I always seem to find the comments following this type of thing so much more interesting.
 
Surprising the battery lasted that long. I wonder if any fool would be playing Tap Tap to avoid boredom and thinking of the pain. 🙄 😀
 
icyfire said:
Not to mention, I doubt the app developers would have released anything on a Windows mobile phone had the iPhone and the App Store not existed.
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Not sure what you mean by this. Are you new to PDAs? I have been buying apps from apps stores since at least 2002. Ever heard of Handango? Apple did not invent the app store. They became best because they own the store and the device, well thats only one of the reasons
 
sinsin07 said:
Not sure what you mean by this. Are you new to PDAs? I have been buying apps from apps stores since at least 2002. Ever heard of Handango? Apple did not invent the app store. They became best because they own the store and the device, well thats only one of the reasons
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Yet the point still is, without the iPhone, said app would not exist.
 
jav6454 said:
Yet the point still is, without the iPhone, said app would not exist.
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Medical, first-aid and timer apps have been available on other smartphones for years.

Don't you recall all the medical students who were upset that the iPhone didn't have apps like ePocrates and Merck Medicus available for the first year or two, like other phones?
 
jav6454 said:
Yet the point still is, without the iPhone, said app would not exist.
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No that's not the point. The point is the popularity of the iphone, having a app other than ifart that actually did some good.

Secondly your statement about "without the iPhone, said app would not exist." is BS. Try checking something called the internet before you make sweeping statements. Here I'll help you:

http://www.handango.com/catalog/SearchResults.jsp
 
sinsin07 said:
No that's not the point. The point is the popularity of the iphone, having a app other than ifart that actually did some good.

Secondly your statement about "without the iPhone, said app would not exist." is BS. Try checking something called the internet before you make sweeping statements. Here I'll help you:

http://www.handango.com/catalog/SearchResults.jsp
Click to expand...

Wow, I never knew you had time after being trapped by a Quake to do all that!
 
jav6454 said:
Wow, I never knew you had time after being trapped by a Quake to do all that!
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OP I gave you props for posting a good link. I am not sure what you mean by the above statement. The MSNBC article does say the trapped person downloaded the app, it does not say when he downloaded. The app could have been downloaded anytime b4 the quake. My statement to the other poster was to point out that other App stores do exist and have so for a long time. First Aid apps exist for WinMob and BB.

The question here is, if this had been a WinMob or BB, would there have been mention of this? Probably not. This statement from the Wired link pretty much sums it up: Say what you will about the iPhone. This story is incredible.

As soon as I get the chance to, I will rib my WinMob loving tech friends for a good laugh.

Oh by the way, a WinMob or BB user might have been able to accomplish the same feat with Handango's mobile store app. I can't vouch for how well it works compared to App store on the Iphone, but it does exist.

And again, thanks for the post.

 
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