Are Your Prepared? I Will Never Be Caught Unprepared Again!

Spare One Emergency Mobile Phone


I received this product for the purpose of review. Regardless all opinions are my own.
   April 27, 2011,  12:30pm James comes home from work early, schools are let out early, the roads are packed with people headed home.  We all know there is a severe weather threat, it has been bad all day, but what we don’t know is just how bad it is about to get. 
   Earlier that morning I am watching in amazement as tornado chasers film one tornado after another across the southern United States.  They continue to form through out the day. I continue to get more and more nervous.  Finally, James comes home.

Image courtesy blog al.com

   Not 45 minutes later the news reports a tornado is on the ground in Tuscaloosa, the county to the west of mine;   it is still on the ground and headed our way.  James and I decide to get prepared, and while we are putting our shoes on, looking for the cat, gathering my laptop (our only source of information as we do not have cable TV at the time), the civil alert sirens begin to blare, and all of a sudden the power goes out.   I run to the sliding glass door to open the blinds for some light, and feel the sinking in the pit of my belly when I see pieces of roof and metal flying through the air!

   
vide0 courtesy of  TeaParty2012 on YouTube
   We run to the bathroom, me with my laptop computer, just in time to learn that the tornado is north of our apartment, cutting through the city, and you can see it from perfectly from Red Mountain.  We happen to live on the side of the mountain, and the debris we saw flying through the air is part of a huge debris cloud.
   We decide to take a peek outside, and soon see a group of neighbors standing in the driveway to the apartments some with their hand over their mouths, some pointing, others crying and praying.  I look towards the city, and all I see is what appears to be a huge rain cloud off in the distance.  Wrong.  That huge cloud is actually a tornado over a MILE wide, and I am watching it destroy thousands of peoples lives. 

This is a picture I took with my old cell phone.  See that hazy area?  That’s the tornado!

   I can see the power transformers exploding, lightening flashing, more tornadoes trying to form behind it.  I watch with horror as it tears a path across the north end of Birmingham, and continues on its way.  That one F-4 tornado remained on the ground for 80.7 miles, killed 64 people and injured more than 1500.  Combined with the other tornadoes that struck the south that day, a total of 316 people died, Alabama being the hardest hit, with 252 deaths.

Photo courtesy AmeriCares blog   PrattCity- north Birmingham suburb

   The reason so many died?  Early morning storms knocked out power to thousands of homes, leaving people with no warning other than the sirens which had been repeatedly going off the entire day.  After the storms, nearly 1 million people had lost their power.  Therefore, no phone, no radio, no lights no way to communicate.
   I could not believe the aftermath, and that one day has taught me that anything can happen, anytime, and it is best to be prepared.  Ever since that day, I have kept an emergency supply kit packed with necessities we may need in case of an emergency.  Matches, candles, a flashlight, batteries, a small first aid kit, and my latest addition, which I received for the purpose of review, the Spare One Emergency Mobile Phone.



   The Spare One phone is the world’s first battery operated cell phone.  Powered by 1 (one) replaceable AA battery, this phone can provide up to 10 hours of talk time, and will hold it charge for 15 years without use.  Once the included battery runs out, you can easily replace it with any alkaline, rechargeable or even lithium AA battery.  The phone is also operable in extreme weather conditions with a workable temperature range of -22 degrees F to 140 degrees F.



   The phone comes in a waterproof bag that is both submersible and floatable, and it is thick enough to keep it dry, yet thin enough that you can talk right through the bag if needed.  It has a slot for a SIM card, and you can pre-program up to 9 emergency contact phone numbers.  If you loose power, and your cell phone battery runs out, you can simply put its SIM card into the Spare One, even if it is an iPhone since the Spare One comes with a pin! 



  The Spare One also features a large, one-touch emergency button that will work regardless of whether or not you have installed a SIM card.  And the phone can be geo-located even without a SIM card in an emergency.  Another neat feature is that if anyone tries to send you a text, it will automatically send a return message saying you can only be reached via a phone call.



   But that is not all! The Spare One can also double as a flashlight as it has an LED torchlight that can last for up to 24 hours!  Despite all of these features, the phone is incredibly slim and lightweight, weighing only 75 grams.  It can be used anywhere in the world as it is available in two GSM frequencies: 850/1900mhz and 900/1800mhz.


   
   Regardless of whether you run into an emergency on the road or you are in a natural disaster, the Spare One is perfect for emergency kits, as an extra phone to keep in the car and even for taking on a trip as an extra phone.  As long as you are within range of a GSM tower, regardless of wherever you are in the world, “Live Prepared” with the Spare One Emergency Cell Phone.



   The Spare One retails starting at $99.99, and can be purchased directly through their website at http://spareone.com/spareone/spareone-emergency-phone.  Be safe, not sorry.