Talk: Satellite phones

I bet you they hook this up to the cable to make a call to the outside world. --Xmuskrat 07:45, 19 April 2007 (PDT)

Signal?[]

Anyone else noticed that the phone appears to have full bar of signal and appears to receiving or sending data? I'm pretty sure that's what the symbols along the top would mean.

Yeah, the bars could mean that the Island is recieving signal. Also did you notice the GPS? If Sayid could power up the phone then they can get the Island's coordinates. --Andrew1210 11:40, 22 April 2007 (PDT)

- Mordern phones all use advanced digital signal processors that enable them to filter out(some of) the data even if the signal is jammed, so there the phone could be working but cannot send.

Phone type[]

Am I the only person who thinks this looks absolutely nothing like the Iridium 9500?--Fat Burger 15:23, 20 April 2007 (PDT)

No, you're not.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Superorange42 (talk • contribs) .

Nope. The Iridium doesn't appear to have a touchscreen on the reverse, although on the wide shot when Jin picks it up thinking it's a walkie-talkie, the phone does bear a passing resemblance.--TechNic|talk|conts 11:33, 22 April 2007 (PDT)

I removed the comparison. Fat Burger 11:28, 23 April 2007 (PDT)

Looking at other screenshots off lost-media.com, I'm convinced that it is in fact the same phone. I removed the statement that the two episodes show different phones. Fat Burger 08:47, 26 April 2007 (PDT)

Yes, it is the same phone type (except for the close-up shots with touch screen, as mentioned). This particular type of phone has detachable satellite antenna, and at the end of "D.O.C." we see it with its antenna detached and removed. This might either be a production error, or a plot element: Mikhail (or —unlikely— someone else) having removed the antenna to make sure the phone stays non-working. This is likely to be resolved in the next episode. --Henryk 18:40, 29 April 2007 (PDT)

I added the original statement but in the process of moving the pages around it looks like some comments were lost. When the phone is shown in Catch-22, it is shown at two angles - a wide shot with Jin holding it sideways and a close-up shot of Hurley holding the phone with the screen outward. The wide shot is very clearly the 9500 (http://gallery.lost-media.com/displayimage-1284-606.html - note the antenna folded behind it). The oddly-proportioned touch-screen was added to spice up this otherwise boring and ugly satphone. Bear in mind that due to power requirements because of the remote locations where these phones have to work, they are all boring and ugly - you won't see a big full color touchscreen with backlight on one of these if you ever hope to charge it via a solar panel. --Jtatum 10:32, 26 April 2007 (PDT)

Ok, that makes a lot of sense. I'll stick a comment about it in the trivia section, feel free to update it if you'd like. Fat Burger 11:15, 26 April 2007 (PDT)

So in all what type of phone is it?--Connor401 18:34, 29 May 2007 (PDT)

It's not a "real" phone of any kind. It using the Iridium 9500 casing, but its clearly not a real 9500, thats just the basis of the prop.KamatariSeta

iPhone[]

Is it even worth mentioning that the interface is similar? It seems irrelevant?--RichardAM 05:16, 4 May 2007 (PDT)

Agree. Roger 08:06, 6 May 2007 (PDT)

No, it's relevant. This is because the iPhone is still unreleased in "real time" (it comes out this this summer - 2007), and as Sayid said the phone is unlike any technology he's ever seen. As we work through the mystery that is this new Naomi girl and the story that she brings with her which suggests that the island is on a different time, seeing a phone that's very advanced and that bears many resemblances to the iPhone is important to note. When/if it becomes irrelevant, we will take it down, but for now the resemblances of it outweigh the speculation that it is unrelated. --Freebert 11:42, 6 May 2007 (PDT)

Also, some one deleted the iPhone comparison, but I do think its important to keep the "Home" symbol similarity. It's difficult to find fault in that theory. If there are no objections its going back up.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Freebert248 (talk • contribs) .

The home symbol looks like more or less every other home symbol found on technology with a menu system. It's a generally recognised icon and comes in many varieties but essentially, they are the same. The fact that the home symbol looks quite like the one Apple use is neither here nor there. I'm sure it looks like any number of other home icons. Just as the phone and mail icons are standardised symbols with slight variations, this one is just another example of the international language of computer icons.--TechNic|talk|conts 18:45, 9 May 2007 (PDT)

TechNic, I respect your opinion. But it is undeniably clear if you look at both home symbols that they are exact. I'm fine with removing the iPhone comparison...but I own a Mac and am going to post both Home icons to show the similarities. I understand that a home symbol can only have so many variations, and if they were slightly different I would agree...but they are EXACTLY alike. Even if it is advertising on the show, I wouldn't be surprised seeing as they already tied in with an entire Sprite ad campaign (Sublymonal) and Jeep. This is Lostpedia, and as such any connections like these, whether immediately relevant or not, should be noted. --Freebert 15:33, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Check out these articles too, it backs up the findings of the Mac OSX symbol and similarity to the iPhone: [1] [2] Picture comparison: [3]

Or just put "lost satellite phone iphone" in Google. At least 100 or more blogs and news services back it up too. --Freebert 15:59, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Only problem with that article is that the two phones they show pictures of look absolutely nothing alike, besides having a touch screen with icons. Based on that logic, Linux and OS/2 Warp are the same OS. Fat Burger 15:54, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Fatburger, I'm assuming you don't own a Mac? --Freebert 16:00, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

I think because the iPhone hadn't been published when the prop was made, the technicians guessed the design and made an iStatellite-Phone. Maybe the they intended to indicate that the device come from the future (since many people have heard murmurs about the iPhone.) --Billc.cn 04:09, 17 August 2007 (PDT)

I have one next to me. I also have most versions of Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD all nearby. Fat Burger 07:21, 11 May 2007 (PDT)

Then you'll agree with me that the Home symbols are exact, no? --Freebert 16:46, 11 May 2007 (PDT)

I agree that the icons are very similar, but in the above pics there are slight differences.

The roofs - Lostphone has a greeny-blue roof, OSX has a brown/black roof.
The windows - Lostphone's is a continuous square, OSX's has a break in the middle of the top and bottom edges.
The chimneys - Lostphone's is offset from the right edge of the house, OSX's is exactly in line with the right edge.
..So I'm afraid that I can't agree that "they are EXACTLY alike", merely that they are similar.--TechNic|talk|conts 17:36, 11 May 2007 (PDT)

TechNic, this is called being difficult. The OSX Home symbol is so small that I had to zoom it in so much that is is rdiculously pixelated, and same with the satphone. Those slight differences are merely cosmetic due to poor quality, lighting, etc... I know you're trying to find flaws in it, but if you can find me another home symbol that looks as similar as these two, please tell me. Also, check out those articles. I'm not the only one who thinks this is a real possibility. And even if you are right Tech, plenty of comparisons, theories, and trivia on Lostpedia are not 100% sure, but we put them up because they're relevant enough. I certaintly this all this evidence warrants it, if you two are the only ones that disagree, I'm putting it back up.--Freebert 13:15, 12 May 2007 (PDT)

Added new better quality photo of Mac OS X symbol. No break in window, roof is same color, chimney is offset as well. Gotcha TechNic. --Freebert 13:25, 12 May 2007 (PDT)

Well, OK. I made that comparison based on the evidence provided (which you have since changed). I accept that the new picture does indeed have less discrepancies. Maybe the designer was using a Mac and saw the icon on his desktop and copied it. But I still maintain that this is a generic icon and the OSX similarity is just a coincidence. You asked for another example of two similar icons, and at work today I noticed that the home button on our staff intranet is also quite like the one on the Lostphone - Staffnet screen grab. Whatever the reasons for this similarity, the point of the issue is what has this got to do with Lost? Are you suggesting that there is some Apple related storyline to come, or that this is product placement?
The Sprite and Jeep campaigns never crossed into the actual show and so far as I know every other product featured in the show has been fictional (except one oversight). Most stuff carries the fictional DHARMA branding, then there's Apollo, Widmore, etc. All carefully designed to be unique to the Lost world. Why do you think this is different? If you really want to put it on the page then you should, but it needs to be in context of the show, rather than waving the Mac flag.--TechNic|talk|conts 15:54, 12 May 2007 (PDT)

TechNic, I'm suggesting that this is a clue as to the time period with which the Losties are part of. You'd agree with me that almost nothing on LOST happens by mistake, and I think it's safe to say some production assitant didn't just grab the Mac OSX icon and stick it on a interface that looks just like the iPhone. "Coincidence" is not a valid word in LOST, if you catch my drift. Anywho, I'm not here to market Apple or anything like that, I just think it's very interesting that the iPhone has yet to be released here in real-time, and with Naomi coming in and saying how the Losties are dead and with Richard Alpert not aging I think there is something to be said for the Island going through time slowly theory. For something (what seems to be) as important as the satphone to LOST right now, I think these types of little things are extremely important to note because once we take out one small detail, then the rest go, too. If you want to contribute to the wording of the piece I put into the trivia, feel free.--Freebert 21:38, 12 May 2007 (PDT)
- In general you are right that most things don't happen by mistake. However, I'm not completely sure whether this is true for the satphone, too. I'm thoroughly dissatisfied how it has been handled, prop-wise: First they show an Iridium 9500 in the long shots and something else in close-ups. In the next episode it's only the Iridium 9500, but this time the antenna has been detached (which might as well have been a plot point, as Mikhail is likely to know how to detach the antenna on this type of phone). And the episode after that it's again the other phone. This might just as well be another Ho`oulu Lāhui. While it's true that a lot of things in Lost don't happen by mistake, the satellite phone is not exactly a stellar example of that attitude. --Henryk 02:42, 13 May 2007 (PDT)
  - I'm going to add something back about the iPhone comparison in the trivia section tommorow.--Freebert 20:39, 23 May 2007 (PDT)

Circles on west coast of North America[]

I think that regardless of whether it's under discussion somewhere (and it only barely is), it's still an unanswered question and should be left. Fat Burger 15:28, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

If you put it down, you cannot say anything about "point of origin" or related topics. If you ask the question, phrase it as "is it an origin point" rather than "it is an origin point, why is it here?" --Freebert 15:33, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Which is exactly why I reworded the original question to remove the assumption that it is a point of origin. The way it's worded poses the question of why the circles appear on the screen. Fat Burger 15:39, 10 May 2007 (PDT)

Unanswered Interference Question[]

Unless I have misunderstood the most recent episode, hasn't the interference been determined to be caused by the looking glass station and not the swan? If I recall correctly Juliet was under the understanding that Ben was blocking all transmission to and from the island using an underwater station and Sayid got the name from the pages he took from The Flame and the knowledge of the cable to the beach to conclude that this station is what is causing interference. I would just remove the question, but would rather get others thoughts as to whether I am understanding this correctly or not. --Suddud (Talk) 21:00, 17 May 2007 (PDT)

No, you're right. I'll fix it up. Fat Burger 08:08, 18 May 2007 (PDT)

Unanswered question[]

Ummm....the phone would be broken because IT FELL OUT OF A HELICOPTER!!!!!!! I thunk it should be removed. --Blueeagle islander 17:39, 30 June 2007 (PDT)

Phones can't be real[]

Interesting article here on why the Satellite Phones on 'Lost' Can't Be Real. --Kivipat