For those of you that doubt that cellphones emit harmful radiation, watch this video of four cellphones cooking steak.
Before we begin, here's a quick gem from CNET's report on Cell Phone radiation:
"...all users, children and adults, should not sleep with an active phone next to their bedside or under their pillow."
I use my iPhone. ALOT. Not just to look up random useless facts on Wikipedia but for the neverending soundtrack to my life. I use the lovely custom Internet radio program Pandora but ever since Rhapsody, the $15/month a la carte music service, released their iPhone app, I haven't really found a reason to use any other device for music or any reason to stop listening to music for that matter. So in my mind this places users like me a step or two above your average cell phone user for usage.
As we all 'know' cellphones emit radiation and radiation of course gives us Superpowers. While the extent to which cellphone radiation gives us superpowers 'can be debated', I'll make a small sacrifice not to take that risk. Luckily CNET has released a report telling us which cellphones will have us shooting laser beams out of our eyes sooner than others. iPhones are on the higher end but not the worst with the 3G model at a 1.3 SAR rating. SAR of course stands for Super Angry Robots and the more Super Angry Robots your phone has the faster you too will become a Super Angry Robot.
If you are the type who wants to defend themselves from Super Angry Robot attacks you can buy a SAR Shield. Yes, a tiny little strip of space age metal attached to backside of your phone is going to protect you against radiation. I tend to agree with WebJester's comment on CNET's forums:
"I hate to be cynical about all this but, even if this "passive device" has the ability to "catch radiation," it would have to encompass the entire phone. Radiation doesn't just choose it's path of destruction, it goes in all directions. So a pea sized device will only catch the radiation in its path.
Maybe the device should look like a ski mask that you wear on your head... Now THATS protection!"
Luckily for me, there is a rather simple solution of keeping the cell phone away from human bodies. I saw on both CNET's report and on the FCC site that keeping the cell phone just an inch away can reduce your risk. While this might be true for some phones, you can still have dangerous levels even a few inches away (see video below).
My solution? Well I'm sure as hell not keeping my iPhone in my pocket anymore. I've always been good about using my headset (not Bluetooth!! those emit radiation as well) but from now on I will be keeping my cellphone on my desk in front of me while I'm working and in the outer pocket of my camera bag (aka Man Gear Purse) while I'm walking about.
If your cellphone is not listed on CNET's report you can check out your phone on the FCC website lookup page using the FCC ID on the back of your phone .
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