http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20081227/tc_nm/us_swiss_rescue

MP3 player guides rescuers to lost tourists (Reuters)

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ZURICH (Reuters) - The light from an MP3 player saved two lost tourists from a chilly night stuck out in the snowy Swiss mountains, rescue authorities said Saturday.

The two -- a skier and snowboarder, both from France -- had got lost late in the day Friday outside marked runs near the resort of Savognin in southeast Switzerland, said Gery Baumann, spokesman for mountain rescue service Rega.

They were able to alert authorities using a mobile phone, but it then ran out of battery power, Baumann said.

"The two winter sports enthusiasts were found by the crew of the Rega helicopter shortly after midnight -- thanks to the faint light of their MP3 player," he said.

The two men had only mild hypothermia, despite temperatures falling as low as 15 degrees Celsius.

(Reporting by Sam Cage; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

Actually, minus 15 degrees Celsius.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5joLIFCh5tVBMiI-jpytRtZrUvGiAD95B3RSG0

They could carry an MP3, but no extra cell phone battery?

Sue

Remember, not all cell phones have removable batteries these days.

Great, so now I've gotta carry my ipod wherever I go? Sheesh...

JohnE

iPhone 3G. The GPS / Triangulation is dead on. Music is with ya, phone is with ya, internet is with ya. Oh yeah and there is an application to provide a flashlight.

I s'pose so, but a small flashlight attached to your keychain works pretty good as a light too.

I am so far behind the power curve, electronics wise, I don't even know what some of those things are. But I always have a flashlight of some type with me, and a way to make sparks/fire...

My son has one of those iPhone things. They put out a lot of light. You can easily illuminate your way around in a dark house with one. At -15 Celsius the LCD screen might start going south on you, but I imagine the backlight would continue working. Now my questions is, were these lost guys trying to signal with the thing, or just grooving to some tunes?!