According to a report by NBC, on June 20, a 70-year-old man who was separated from his hiking group along the Taiwanese river was located by searchers who tracked his 10-year-old Nokia cellphone. The man, named Liu Quanming, was lagging behind his group when he fell from the path.
Xie Tinglong, a police official in Taichung, which is located in western Taiwan, told NBC, “Liu lagged behind the rest of his hiking group and then got lost. He soon lost his way, slipped and fell down the mountain into the ravine below.”
The Keelong City resident lost his cellphone when it tumbled away from him to the rocks below, but it did not break. Instead, the phone stayed alive and received calls for the five days that the man was missing. Those searching for the missing man heard his phone ringing and found him nearby. While police say the elderly man suffered minor scratches, he was taken to Taichung Metro Harbor Hospital, where doctors refused to comment. His decade-old Nokia phone, however, was unscathed.
If Quanming had owned a modern smart phone like an iPhone, it would not have maintained enough battery life to survive for five days, and it likely would have shattered upon impact with the rocks. Quanming and his family are grateful for the durability and reliability of his old Nokia phone.
Photo: Siangling Tan
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