Imagine your mobile handset can double as a personal emergency alarm system to summon immediate rescue in the event of a crisis.
This innovative service in raising emergency alarm for use by the elderly in particular is emerging in the market in recent months.
A Consumer Council market survey has found two types of mobile systems in operation: mobile handsets specially installed with an emergency button which when pressed will call a support centre, or will dial and send message to 5 pre-set phone numbers.
The Council is, however, concerned that such systems may not always work out as expected under certain extreme circumstances and may, therefore, create a false sense of security to the users.
In the first scenario, the concern is with the possibility that the support centre when alerted, may have difficulty in tracking down your exact whereabout in a building, for instance, in the event that you have lost consciousness and are unable to communicate with the centre.
With the help of mobile phone network, the support centre may be able to identify your approximate location but there is no way of finding out exactly and quickly enough (especially in a highrise) on which floor or position you may be found.
In the second scenario, it is also possible that your distress message sent automatically to 5 pre-set phone numbers can draw a total blank.
The concern is that: what if the calls do not get answered or reach a voice mail box, or what if the called person cannot reach the user in a short period of time to offer immediate help.
In the third scenario, the Council is concerned about blind spots of mobile coverage as there are areas with no or weak mobile coverage, such as some indoor locations, basements, restaurants, country park areas, etc. In these locations, users may not be able to make call to the support centre, or dial and send message to pre-set phone numbers.
Any undue delay in an emergency can mean a difference between life and death especially in a severe case.
Consumers are, therefore, advised to be wary of the inherent limitations in the use of such innovative mobile emergency alarm systems.
For more details of these mobile systems and 4 indoor- and 1 outdoor-use personal emergency alarm systems, consumers can refer to the survey report in this June issue of CHOICE.
Also included in this issue of CHOICE on a related topic is a test report, for the first time, on elderly mobile phones.
The features of elderly handsets are: simple design, large keypad, large display character, loud volume, and hearing aid compatibility as well as emergency call function.
The samples in the test covered 3 mobile phones designed for the elderly and 1 simple-design 3G mobile phone, ranging in price from $1,180 to $1,480.
The test placed heavy emphasis on the performance rating of the samples on ease of use (40%), followed by telephone function (20%) and battery performance (20%), durability (10%) and versatility (10%).
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