Huawei welcomes India’s decision to make SOS panic button mandatory

NEW DELHI: Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has  welcomed government’s decision to make panic button mandatory for all mobiles phones from January 1, 2017.

The move aims to help improve security of women and assist law enforcement agencies. In August last year, when the government and Ministry of Women and Child Development (MoWCD) urged the smartphone manufacturers to check feasibility of embedding such feature in the smartphone.

The company's  brand Honor Honor, the leading e-brand of Huawei became the first to respond to the request. "Our Research and Development (R&D) in Bengaluru innovated this functionality and today, Honor smartphones sold in the Indian market already come embedded with a SOS feature," the company said in statement.

This feature acts as an emergency alarm and sends SMS to three pre-set numbers. The users would also have an option to choose the action which is convenient to them and can allow them to activate alarm discreetly. Alongside, the user can send their location information to the pre-set numbers making it easy for users to reach out for help in the hour of need.

Allen Wang, President of Consumer Business Group, Huawei Telecommunication India said, “We welcome this move by the Government of India and are committed to provide full support to ensure complete safety. All our smartphones are equipped with in-built GPS systems to provide assistance to our customers at any given time. Last year, we introduced SOS feature in all our smartphones to ensure women safety.

"The SOS feature which sends instant messages to three pre-set numbers and can be activated through a few user friendly steps was made possible by the Huawei R&D team in Bangalore. We will work in compliance with all government requirements and regulations and keep working on software updates to provide users with features as laid by the government from time to time and as required," he added.

The feature would be embedded in the upcoming batches of all Huawei and Honor smartphones as directed by the government, and all previously sold phones of these models will be able to avail the feature by updating the software. The alarm can be raised by simple actions that users could choose and preset which could include; shake the phone to activate alarm, long hold a defined key. Once the alarm is raised, it will promptly share location information along with a preset message and call informing them during crisis situation.

Last year, Huawei India was the first smartphone manufacturers in India to respond to government’s ask of creating smart devices with the SOS feature. Adding further to this development, Wang added, “Last year in August, 2015, the government issued a directive to mobile phone manufacturers to incorporate a panic button on all handsets. We discussed the directive from the government with our R&D team in India and the result is here for all to see and experience. Within a short span of 2 months, the Huawei R&D team made available the first available prototype of a smartphone with the SOS feature embedded. Huawei R&D team is also working towards the SOS feature for all other Huawei and Honor smartphones.”