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Emergency SOS via Satellite Saves Students Trapped in Utah Canyon

BobSc said:
And you've never boasted about one of your accomplishments? Apple did a great thing with their satellite SOS and this comment is showing such extreme Apple hate. I guess I'm no longer surprised by this, and that's sad.
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It is perplexing. It's as if many people are just waiting for an outcome where people die.

I chalk it up to there's a lot perpetually unhappy people out there and ragging on a successful large company feels good.

As an aside, Apple never boasted about this. This was a story picked up by Utah television station KUTV, which interviewed one of the kids.
 
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Solomani said:
What are you talking about Apple PR? Are you implying Apple is to blame for sensationalizing this story? Did you even read the article? The news was reported by AppleInsider (another Apple fansite) and also by KUTV, a Utah-based news station. Apple Inc had nothing to do with this story. No one at Apple was even interviewed or asked to comment about this event.

The only thing that involved Apple is their built-in iPhone satellite SOS feature that helped get those kids out of danger.

But keep on trying to blame Apple for everything, ok?
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Please read my reply to the other poster re Apple often use these good fortune stories for PR and not leap at every opportunity to defend Apple where none was needed :rolleyes:
 
Takeo said:
Well they had rope, carabiners, fire starting equipment, a sat phone. Not sure I’d say they were unprepared. **** happens.
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But what they lacked was common sense to stop and turn around when they had issues. Instead, they kept going.
 
SteveJUAE said:
Please read my reply to the other poster re Apple often use these good fortune stories for PR and not leap at every opportunity to defend Apple where none was needed :rolleyes:
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Speaking of where none was needed...

Maybe it would be better to wait until Apple actually commits such a heinous offense, before taking a swing at them, because anything is possible, and who knows, Apple might in the future? Better to wait for when one is needed.
 
Yay Apple! Now we just need week long battery life / battery innovation (true innovation).
swingerofbirch said:
That's the lesson they took away from this?

Everyone deserves to be saved from harm, but STOP running back into it if you are lucky enough to escape!
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don’t be so judgmental. Some people enjoy taking risks. “A ship is always safe at shore, but that’s not what it’s meant for.” These types of adventures are what some people find meaning and life fulfillment from. Does that mean make a ton of stupid decisions? No. But these kids took a risk and it was dangerous. Does a NASCAR driver stop driving when they wreck? What about athletes when they get severely injured but recover fully? For some people, the journey and reward is greater than the risk.
 
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iBreatheApple said:
Yay Apple! Now we just need week long battery life / battery innovation (true innovation).

don’t be so judgmental. Some people enjoy taking risks. “A ship is always safe at shore, but that’s not what it’s meant for.” These types of adventures are what some people find meaning and life fulfillment from. Does that mean make a ton of stupid decisions? No. But these kids took a risk and it was dangerous. Does a NASCAR driver stop driving when they wreck? What about athletes when they get severely injured but recover fully? For some people, the journey and reward is greater than the risk.
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Spot on. What if Jobs and Wozniak never took risks, and played it safe working at HP for 30+ years?
 
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Skyscraperfan said:
I still wonder how that paid subscription will work. Will people die without a subscription although the phone could technically use the satellite service? For me it would make more sense to charge AFTER you use it. Each call could cost $50 for example. In a real emergency that would be a great deal and in European countries the health insurance would very likely pay that.
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No, it will be marketed as subscribe if you don’t wanna die. And that’s exactly why I find these kind of articles pure PR. So we all subconsciously start thinking about it and how good it would be to subscribe to it in case for the 25 minutes per year when you don’t have reception you need it.

Pure marketing.
 
I7guy said:
Let’s say you buy inferior climbing equipment and fall off the mountain because if it. You have to be responsible.
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The analogy does not work, because the iPhone already has that function built in.

Imagine you drive by an accident. Then you are forced to help by law, if that does not put yourself at risk. Even though nobody has paid you for saving his life. Not sure how the laws are in the US, but in Germany Apple could into major trouble if someone dies although the iPhone could have saved him. It is a grey zone, because Apple will never know that the iPhone owners are in trouble. The Volkswagen example is clearer. If a child is abducted and Volkswagen has the power to locate it via GPS, they are forced to do that - at least in Germany.

I remember Tesla does not let you use your whole battery capacity unless you pay extra. When their were wildfires in California though, Tesla enabled full capacity even for people who did not pay, because imagine someone stuck in the fire, because he did not pay for using for all the battery power. Tesla knew that such news would be a PR nightmare. Apple should have the same thoughts.

Imagine the fire department would not save your house, because you did not pay all your taxes on time.
 
SteveJUAE said:
Please read my reply to the other poster re Apple often use these good fortune stories for PR and not leap at every opportunity to defend Apple where none was needed :rolleyes:
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Yeah I read what you said too. You are saying Apple Should give its potential life saving tech away for free. Who does that? It’s called a competitive advantage and it is everywhere in the world.

Notwithstanding, this is Satellite in a standard type mobile phone. It isn’t protected, so anyone can do it.

Apple are absolutely entitled to use this feature for PR and Advertising. It was in their ads when the phone was released. No different to fall protection Or heart rate monitoring on the watch.

To be honest, if more people know about this, the better it will be.
 
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Skyscraperfan said:
The analogy does not work, because the iPhone already has that function built in.

Imagine you drive by an accident. Then you are forced to help by law, if that does not put yourself at risk. Even though nobody has paid you for saving his life. Not sure how the laws are in the US, but in Germany Apple could into major trouble if someone dies although the iPhone could have saved him. It is a grey zone, because Apple will never know that the iPhone owners are in trouble. The Volkswagen example is clearer. If a child is abducted and Volkswagen has the power to locate it via GPS, they are forced to do that - at least in Germany.

I remember Tesla does not let you use your whole battery capacity unless you pay extra. When their were wildfires in California though, Tesla enabled full capacity even for people who did not pay, because imagine someone stuck in the fire, because he did not pay for using for all the battery power. Tesla knew that such news would be a PR nightmare. Apple should have the same thoughts.

Imagine the fire department would not save your house, because you did not pay all your taxes on time.
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All the more reason for Apple to not make the feature available in Germany and other such places.

Same for Apple Card, Apple Savings and other offerings that a govt is going to endlessly complain about.

Personally, I would rather see Apple eliminate the sat feature entirely than to give it away for free.
 
They could've tied their iPhone to the rope and thrown it into the water to see how deep it was...no satellite rescue involved.
 
Despite the cynicism that (even I) we might feel about these sorts of “headlines”, the fact is the technology is a welcome addition to any personal communications device. It will save lives just as cell phones and pagers have saved lives. It will also improve the quality of life for people who might ever need such features.

I’d be interested to see how frequently it’s been used thus far.
 
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steve09090 said:
Yeah I read what you said too. You are saying Apple Should give its potential life saving tech away for free. Who does that? It’s called a competitive advantage and it is everywhere in the world.

Notwithstanding, this is Satellite in a standard type mobile phone. It isn’t protected, so anyone can do it.

Apple are absolutely entitled to use this feature for PR and Advertising. It was in their ads when the phone was released. No different to fall protection Or heart rate monitoring on the watch.

To be honest, if more people know about this, the better it will be.
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Thanks, of course they are entitled to do as they please

My appols if you think I was singularly pointing out on this one feature

I just think if these OEMs who have such lofty goals of saving lives and then advertise the fact could do better

The double edge sword of mobile tech where for every life saved or helped a third or more was actually caused by using the tech

As I noted before companies like Volvo showed us all what is possible to help all, over the bottom line :)
 
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Skyscraperfan said:
The analogy does not work, because the iPhone already has that function built in.

Imagine you drive by an accident. Then you are forced to help by law, if that does not put yourself at risk. Even though nobody has paid you for saving his life. Not sure how the laws are in the US, but in Germany Apple could into major trouble if someone dies although the iPhone could have saved him. It is a grey zone, because Apple will never know that the iPhone owners are in trouble. The Volkswagen example is clearer. If a child is abducted and Volkswagen has the power to locate it via GPS, they are forced to do that - at least in Germany.

I remember Tesla does not let you use your whole battery capacity unless you pay extra. When their were wildfires in California though, Tesla enabled full capacity even for people who did not pay, because imagine someone stuck in the fire, because he did not pay for using for all the battery power. Tesla knew that such news would be a PR nightmare. Apple should have the same thoughts.

Imagine the fire department would not save your house, because you did not pay all your taxes on time.
Click to expand...
Emergency satellite 911 is not a mandated service. If you don’t pay your cell bill your phone will be unable to function as normal. Its mandated e911 services are available. There’s no mandate for e-sat 911. You want it after two years pay for it. Just like other providers, eg Garmin who charge for the service.
 
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SteveJUAE said:
Thanks, of course they are entitled to do as they please

My appols if you think I was singularly pointing out on this one feature

I just think if these OEMs who have such lofty goals of saving lives and then advertise the fact could do better

The double edge sword of mobile tech where for every life saved or helped a third or more was actually caused by using the tech

As I noted before companies like Volvo showed us all what is possible to help all, over the bottom line :)
Click to expand...

FWIW, the company that makes Volvo cars is owned by a Chinese parent company.
 
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