Get a call from the North Pole IRL thanks to this really cute chat bot
You may never quite catch him in the flesh on Christmas Eve, but Santa's coming to life in a whole new way this year thanks to a project by cloud communications platform Twilio.
Parents can now give their little ones the chance to have a personal phone chat with an adorably squeaky-voiced elf from the North Pole through the SantaPhone project.
The project allows people to schedule a phone call anytime between now and Dec. 25 by listing their name, email and mobile phone number.
Mashable rang the SantaPhone line and spoke with Santa's Helper #30012, an automated chat bot whose painfully cute vocals sounded sort of like Alvin and the Chipmunks.
He asked what we wanted for Christmas this year, and after a dial tone, we told him. It was a fun little experience that also happens to be totally free, as a Twilio rep confirmed to Mashable.
Each call is recorded and sent by email (although you can ask Twilio to delete it) so you can hold onto those few moments of holiday cheer for as long as you'd like. Twilio is donating $1 to Toys for Tots for every call, up to $10,000.
With a brand new way for children to give their annual gift list, the SantaPhone could be the 'Dear Santa' wish list of the future.
Marissa is a real-time news intern at the LA office. She has a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She's a free spirit.
