Mother Invents Another Way to Dial 911

There’s another reason that public safety dispatchers might receive 911 calls, both accidentally and on purpose—the ZOMM. The mother of three children, Laurie Penix, noticed her children were losing their cellular phones, and so came up with a key fob device to sound an alert if the phone goes out of Bluetooth range of the fob. The device also “rings” for incoming calls, and includes a pushbutton to automatically dial 911. Specifically, when the panic button is pushed continuously, the ZOMM connects to your cellular phone via Bluetooth, dials 911, and then plays a pre-recorded message. At that point, the ZOMM’s speakerphone feature is activated so the user and dispatcher can talk to each other. The company points out that the 911 is generated only after a continuous press of the panic button, and only after the audible panic alarm is activated briefly to alert the user a 911 will be placed. The $80 is available for pre-order now, with a May delivery. Find more information about ZOMM here.