Saved By A Telemarketer
from the who-wants-an-unlisted-number-now? dept
Reuters has an odd story about a guy who was hiking in the Andes and got stranded. He tried to call for help on his mobile phone, but discovered he was out of minutes. After surviving for about 24 hours, his phone suddenly rang and it was a telemarketer offering him more prepaid minutes. That telemarketer then called for help and kept calling the guy back to make sure he was staying awake. It’s a nice story, but it does make me wonder about a few things. Shouldn’t any such mobile phone automatically be able to call the phone company to sign up for more minutes once you run out? I can’t believe any phone company wouldn’t have that ability in the phone. I also wonder about his “recharging” of the batteries by throwing them into the snow. Anyone know anything about that? Finally (yes, this is a joke), if the phone company was really smart they would have upped the price on the minutes they tried to sell the guy once they realized how desperately he needed them. I sense a new business model…
Comments on “Saved By A Telemarketer”
No Subject Given
Actually that struck me as odd that my VoiceStream Prepaid Service requires does not allow to call their customer service from the phone, whose minutes are expired. You’re supposed to find a different phone, dial customer service from there and then buy the minutes to enable your cell phone. Makes a whole lot of sense if your car broke down on highway or, like the guy in the story, you are stranded somewhere.
Batteries
It is possible to get a little more work out of the batteries by cycling them (warm, then cold, then warm, etc). Recharging might not be the best term for it, but what he did was logical and possible. My dad used to punch a hole in a lead-acid battery and submerge it in lemon juice if he needed a little more kick from them. Just as long as the batteries weren’t lithium – FYI, they explode when warmed up if they are deep-discharged in sub-zero temps (at least they used to, when an older friend of mine did his masters on batteries found that useful fact out).
Does this help? 🙂
Reuters and batteries
If Reuters says it s true, then maybe it s true but, at least in Europe, mobile operators let you make emergency calls anyway
abt batteries, it works, used to put them in the fridge all the time when I was a kid to get 5 more minute of charge
Re: Reuters and batteries
But the batteries you put in the fridge were not recargeables. I have no idea if it works them or not.
Re: Re: Reuters and batteries
yep, that’s true, putting cellphone int eh fridge tonite, tom i ll tell you
Re: Re: Re: Reuters and batteries
They don’t have to be rechargeable, it just the cycling from warm to cold to warm that gets them going a little more and pumps a little more juice out of them.