SPOT 'Connect,' a device to connect a smartphone with satellites
- Materials:
- plastic (unidentified) and electrnic components
- Object Number:
- 2014-104/6
- type:
- spot 'connect'
HTC One mobile phone used to make the first video call from the summit of Everest in May 2013, manufactured by HTC, 2013.
On 19 May 2013 mountaineer Daniel Hughes used this HTC One mobile phone to make the world’s first video call from the summit of Mount Everest. The phone effectively acted like a small computer. The video signal was streamed using WiFi technology to a satellite router that transmitted the video signal so it could be picked up by BBC News, who broadcast the transmission live. The mobile, or cellular, functionality of the phone was not used at all for the video call. Hughes also used the phone to monitor his location using the inbuilt GPS system, to take photographs and to monitor his heartbeat. Using a mobile phone at such high altitude came with some unusual challenges. Hughes used a stylus to operate the phone so that he did not have to remove his gloves and risk frostbite.