Last week Apple announced the new iPhone 3GS ('S' for speed) and a new HTC Android phone was sent out for trials by Vodafone.

Android is an operating system by Google made for mobile phones.
Its not the actual devices themselves I am interested in. It's their capability when connected to 3G and Telecom's claimed coverage of 97 percent of the population.
Here in the Bay, as else where in New Zealand, we live in a rural environment. Lots of people live up dead end roads only accessible off the main highway. We have bridges that are easily blocked and we have long distances between hospitals and possible incidents.
This has been a fact for a long time and the emergency services have looked at many ways of reducing the impact this has on casualty care. But cost has always been a major issue to our stretched good Samaritans. The technology has been large, clunky and slow, or very expensive, requiring time to set up at both ends.
Now though, it is possible to have good quality images sent from a scene via a mobile phone. It is also easy and affordable to take quality videos and stream them back to the hospital or the doctor.

Imagine a farm worker has had an accident up Minden Road. The person making the call to the emergency operator asks for an ambulance, the operator asks if they have a phone capable of video or photo. If the answer is ‘yes', the operator can then free call the number and create a video link.
While the ambulance is en route, the ER team can view the feed and have information ready for the ambulance crew members before they arrive. When they arrive they make an assessment and create a new link to the ER.
Another example is to send useful statistics about a patient who needs to be monitored via the phone system, allowing a doctor to be aware and intervene swiftly, if required rather than waiting for a call.
The equipment and now the network exist to make this achievable. Though not yet perfect, it works and is a lot cheaper than past systems. Now we just need to get the application right. I think the Bay is a good place to start.