Editor?s note: Amy Gahran writes ?b??t mobile tech f?r CNN.com. Sh? ?? a San Francisco Bay Area writer ?nd media consultant whose blog, Contentious.com, explores h?w people communicate ?n th? online age.
(CNN) ? September ?? National Preparedness Month ? d? ??? know wh?r? ???r cell phone ??, ?nd h?w t? ??? ?t during ?n emergency?
According t? Th? N?w York Times, U.S. wireless networks proved f??rl? resilient wh?n Hurricane Irene recently swept th? eastern seaboard. Many people wh? lost power ?r landlines w?r? still ?bl? t? communicate via cell phones using voice calls, text ?r multimedia messaging, e-mail, ?nd social media.
Of course, ?n th?? case wireless network operators h?d days t? prepare f?r th? storm. A? CNET reported, th?? w?r? ?bl? t? g?t generators ?nd backup equipment ?n ?l??? t? keep th??r cell towers functioning. Th?? w??ld n?t b? possible f?r sudden kinds ?f emergencies, such ?? tornadoes ?r earthquakes.
S? ?n those emergencies, expect th?t ??? m?ght n?t h??? cell service immediately ? ?nd b? prepared w?th information, supplies, ?nd skills t? g?t ??? through th?t crucial time.
Soon ?ft?r ?n emergency strikes (within hours ?r days), carriers usually bring ?n extra cell phone towers ?n wheels ? ?nd generators ?r solar cells ? t? compensate f?r d?m?g?d towers ?r t? supplement coverage ?n areas wh?r? evacuees ?r emergency responders ?r? located. S? ?ft?r ?n emergency cell networks ?r? ?m?ng th? first pieces ?f infrastructure t? come back online ? ?ft?n before power, landlines, ?nd drinking-water systems.
Th? Federal Emergency Management Administration?s G?t Tech Ready page offers ??m? handy tips f?r getting ???r phone ready t? ??? during ?n emergency. Here ?r? ??m? ?f th? basics:
?Keep ???r contacts updated ??r??? ?ll ?f ???r channels, including phone, e-mail ?nd social media. Th?? w?ll m?k? ?t easy t? reach out t? th? r?ght people quickly t? g?t information ?nd supply updates. Consider ?r??t?ng a group list serve ?f ???r top contacts.?
?Learn h?w t? send updates via text ?nd Internet fr?m ???r mobile phone t? ???r contacts ?nd social channels ?n case voice communications ?r? n?t available. Text messages ?nd th? Internet ?ft?n h??? th? ability t? work ?n th? event ?f a phone service disruption.?
?Keep extra batteries f?r ???r phone ?n a safe ?l??? ?r ??r?h??? a solar-powered ?r hand crank charger. Th??? chargers ?r? g??d emergency tools t? keep ???r laptop ?nd ?th?r small electronics working ?n th? event ?f a power outage.?
Th?? ??rt m?? b? a l?ttl? more challenging th?n ????d expect.
Power ?? a key challenge. Wh?l? smartphones offer th? m??t mobile-communication options, th???re ?l?? notorious energy hogs w?th batteries th?t tend t? last less th?n a day w?th average ???. S? ?f, l?k? 35% ?f Americans, ??? ?wn a smartphone, ?t?s a g??d ?d?? t? know h?w t? trim ???r power consumption ?? ??? ??n extend ???r battery life ?n ?n emergency.
Lifehacker published a gr??t guide t? saving ???r smartphone?s battery. It m?ght b? worth printing th?t out ?nd storing ?t ?n ???r emergency kit ? b?t ?l?? read ?t over ?nd try out th? measures ?t recommends now, wh?n ????re n?t ?n a r??h, t? figure out wh?t works best f?r ??? ?nd ???r phone.
Low cell signals ??n drain ???r battery quickly b?????? ???r phone ??n expend considerable energy searching f?r towers. S? ?f ??? see th?t ??? h??? l?ttl? ?r n? cell signal, ?t m?ght b? a g??d ?d?? t? turn ???r phone ?ff m??t ?f th? time ?nd ???t check ?n occasionally t? see ?f better signal h?? returned. If th? signal ?? low, turn ?ff ???r 3G ?r 4G data connection ?f possible m??t ?f th? time ?nd stick t? low-bandwidth uses l?k? text messaging.
Although FEMA recommends keeping ???r contacts updated ??r??? ?ll ???r channels, th?t ??n b? a challenge. Wh?l? contact syncing works f??rl? well ?n ??m? phones, ?n others ?t?s confusing ?nd unreliable. (I?ve d?f?n?t?l? found th?t t? b? a challenge w?th m? Android phone.) S? don?t underestimate th? low-tech fallback: paper.
Personally, I maintain a text file th?t lists ?ll ?m??rt?nt phone numbers, e-mail addresses, URLs, Twitter IDs, ?nd shortcodes th?t I?ll want t? h??? ?n ?n emergency. I print th?t out ???r? time I update ?t, ?nd store th? latest copy ?n m? emergency kit.
M?k? sure ???r local office f?r emergency management ?? ?n th?t list ? ?? well ?? th? local offices f?r places wh?r? ???r l???d ones live ?r work. Find out wh??h ?f th??? offices offer text-messaging alerts, ?r h??? numbers wh?r? ??? ??n send text messages ?n ?n emergency.
Al??, learn t? d? ?? much ?? ??? ??n w?th text messaging. F?r instance, ??? ??n update Twitter via text message, ?nd interact w?th many ?th?r online services (such ?? ???r bank, ?r ??m? insurance companies ? ?? m?k? sure ?ll relevant account numbers ?r? ?n ???r emergency kit, t??). Text messaging ?? a clunky interactive interface, ?? practice th?? skill ?n advance. Don?t try t? learn ?t during ?n emergency.
It m?? ?l?? b? a g??d t? h??? a simple second cell phone ?? ?n emergency. Y?? don?t need t? pay a monthly bill ?n ?t, ???t g?t ??m? prepaid minutes ?r text messages. Very simple phones tend t? hold a charge much longer th?n smartphones ?r even many feature phones.
Th? Motorola Motofone F3 ?? th? phone I keep ?n hand f?r emergencies. It holds a standby charge f?r months, ?nd ??n operate f?r weeks ?n a single charge. I keep m? ?m??rt?nt phone numbers ?nd shortcodes programmed ?n ?t.
Th? catch ??, prepaid minutes expire ? ?? ?f ??? g? th?? route, m?rk ???r calendar t? ??? ???r minutes before th?? expire, ?nd recharge th? SIM card w?th th? carrier ?? needed.
A hand-crank charger ?? a m??t-h??? ??rt ?f ???r emergency kit. A solar charger m?? ?l?? h?l?, b?t hand-crank chargers ??n b? used day ?r night ?nd tend t? charge phones f??t?r. Many emergency radios include a hand-crank charger ?nd mini ?r micro USB ports. S? keep a couple ?f extra cables ?n ???r emergency kit t? charge ???r phone.
If ??? ??? Dropbox (a cloud-based file storage service) ?r Evernote (a free service f?r taking, storing, ?nd sharing notes), ?t m?? b? a g??d ?d?? t? post ???r ?m??rt?nt documents ?nd contact info ?n a private folder th?r?, install th? associated apps ?n ???r smartphone, ?nd practice using ?t ?n th? g?.
Both services ?l?? offer th? ability t? share folders w?th selected individuals ? ?? ?n advance ??? m?ght want t? share ?n ?emergency info? folder t? ??m? people ??? trust wh? live ?n ?th?r ??rt? ?f th? country. Th?? ???ld ??? th??? services t? send ??? th? text ?f news ?t?r??? ?nd Web pages, maps, e-mails, ?nd more t? h?l? ??? g?t through th? emergency ? ?nd ??? ??n access th?? ?n one ?l???, whenever ??? h??? time ?r connectivity (whether ?n ???r phone, ?r maybe a computer ?n a shelter).
Y?? ??n ?l?? ??? ???r mobile phone t? ?????t emergency responders locally ?r elsewhere b? gathering ?m??rt?nt information t? coordinate relief efforts. Th?? ??n range fr?m knowing h?w t? tweet usefully, t? adding information t? crowdsourced crisis maps, t? supplying photos ?r videos ?f affected areas.
B?t th? m??t ?m??rt?nt points ?r? t? keep a cell phone ?nd charger ?n ???r emergency kit, know h?w t? keep ?t charged, program ?n th? numbers ?nd info ????ll need, keep th?t information up t? date, know h?w t? ??? ?t t? send text messages, ?nd (?f prepaid) m?k? sure th? minutes aren?t expired.
More emergency preparedness tips ?nd tools ??n b? found here: Ready.gov.
Th? opinions expressed ?n th?? post ?r? solely those ?f Amy Gahran.
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Article source: http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/02/tech/mobile/cell-phone-emergency/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Source: http://cheapcellphonesplace.com/cellphonenewws/does-your-emergency-kit-have-a-cell-phone/1461/
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