Utah Mobile app could save lives for 99 cents a month

ALPINE — A smartphone application created in Utah County has already garnered about 20,000 users, and local emergency dispatchers are on the alert.

Released this past February, the My911 application uses accelerometers embedded in mobile phones to calculate how fast the phones are traveling. In case of sudden stops, such as the kind that would trigger an airbag deployment, the program automatically calls local emergency services.

For a little extra money, the application can be used to track other people's cell phones or to find your own phone that has been lost or stolen. Parents can use the geo-fencing feature to make sure their children (or at least their children's phones) are where they ought to be.

It all started with Hurricane Katrina, which put large portions of New Orleans under water. Many people who died during the 2005 disaster could have been saved if their phones had been equipped with text messaging services, said Alpine resident Larry Hurwitz, founder and chief executive officer of My 911 Inc.

After the massive flooding, it took two years of effort and about $7,000 to create the application for Blackberry and Android phones. Plans to unveil applications for iPhone, Symbian, Palm and MS operating systems are in the works. Beyond emergency calls, My911 offers an automatic notification system for family and friends, plus maps, weather, traffic and even roadside assistance and insurance.

The application costs between 99 cents and $9.99 per month and has shot up in rankings on websites such as appworld.blackberry.com and 101bestblackberryapps.com.

When Bill Harry, Valley Emergency Communications Center's executive director, first heard about the application, he had concerns about unintended calls to 911. He was also concerned about calls being made when a crash victim was unable to speak.

But Harry's fears were eased when he learned that the phone vibrates and blares like a siren before calling and can be set to do so for up to 60 seconds.

"They are very conscious of not creating any more work in the communications center," Harry said, noting that Hurwitz is working with national emergency communication groups to set standards.

The application is available at www.My-911.com and competes with services such as General Motors' OnStar and Family Tracker for the iPhone. But with a patent pending on its G-force technology, My911 is alone in offering crash detection services for multiple vehicles plus maps and global positioning system services, according to the company.