Nov 02

Cell Phones are Killing Love

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff No Comments »

Cell-Heartbreak After having a long conversation with a friend about relationships, I began to think about why I constantly find myself getting sick of a girlfriend after hitting that six-month mark. I think of my parents and wonder in amazement about how they have managed to put up with each other for so long, but then it dawned on me – the problem with relationships in our generation is the cell phone.

Social networks like Facebook and Myspace play a role in this as well, but the cell phone is number one culprit when it comes to the quick demise of what started as a great relationship. Think about it. Our parents grew up in a world without cell phones. Typically, the man held down an eight hour, 9-5, job with lets say a combined commute of an hour each day. Even if we factor in a 15 minute phone call from a lunch break and then maybe another at the end of the day, this adds up to over 40 hours a week of non-conversation between a couple.

If I were physically unable to converse with a girlfriend for 40 hours per week, I’d bet that I would be twice as excited to spend time with her. She would represent everything other than the stress of work, and both she and I would have eight hours a day to develop and store topics and ideas, which would lead to hours of exciting conversation in the evening. Today, there is no barrier of personal space between couples.

Yes, initially, cell phones and text messaging offered a way to send cute messages to your significant other throughout the day. But now they’ve morphed into what seems to be a constantly open line of communication, a day-long running conversation if you will, which we are expected to be constantly keeping up. After hours and hours of meaningless, forced messages and conversations, how could we not get sick of each other? I used to think my dad was ridiculous for refusing to get a cell phone. Now I’m certain he’s one of the smartest men I know.

Tagged with: • • • • • • •
Sep 28

Getting Paid to Hang Up

By Chris Samaras Phones In The News 1 Comment »

Paid to hang up your cell phoneWould you hang up your cell phone in the car for a dollar? If so, drive to Boston where Jeff Larson is paying people who are driving and talking on their mobile phones a dollar to hang up. Jeff is the president of Safe Roads Alliance, a nonprofit group in Boston. His group has been trying to raise awareness about the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving through this roadside campaign that has been named “Bucks for Hang Ups.”

Larson has been standing on the side of the road near the Columbia Road exit off Interstate 93 South for about a week with a sign that reads: “Please, please, please, hang up and drive.” The back of his sign reads: “I’ll give you $1 if you hang up that call.’’ And he will. Larson has given away over a hundred dollars in a week, and he is prepared to give away four hundred more. Unfortunately for Larson, most people respond to him as they would to a homeless person panhandling for change. Even though he dresses in a suit and tie, Larson has been getting the finger all week. He says that people have actually been turning down the money.

Although no one likes being pestered at a red light, Larson’s cause is just. In addition to giving out a dollar for hang ups, he is handing out flyers that to inform drivers that they are four times more likely to get into a car accident if they are talking or texting while driving. The Harvard Center for Risk Analysis reports that 636,000 crashes and 2,600 deaths a year are related to cell phone usage. Larson commented that, “People just don’t drive well,” and I’d have to agree. There are already plenty of distractions for drivers like food, make up, and iPods. With BlueTooth earpieces being so cheap these days, it seems ridiculous to have to add cell phones to the list.

Larson plans on taking his campaign to Washington this week where US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will be holding a summit on distracted driving. If you’ll be driving in the area, look for the guy in the suit trying to give away money. Wendy’s still has a dollar menu, right?

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • •
Sep 20

Top 10 Cell Phones in Terms of Radiation

By Chris Samaras Interesting Phone Stuff, Phones In The News 1 Comment »

Cell Phone Radiation RiskAlthough the debate as to whether or not mobile phones are dangerous to users is still heated, the undeniable fact remains that all cell phones emit some level of radiation. There are standards in place, however, which are set by the Federal Communications Commission, by which all cell phone companies must abide. Currently, the standard requires that all cell phones must emit 1.6 W/kg or lower.

The government watchdog group, the Environmental Working Group, has completed an extensive study on cell phone radiation, and their vice president of research feels that people who have used a cell phone for more than ten years have an increased risk for brain and mouth tumors. France, Germany, and Israel are concerned by cell phone radiation to the point that they have issued mobile phone usage limits, especially for children.

CTIA, the wireless industry lobbying association, strongly disagrees and claims that years of scientific study show that cell phones pose no serious risk to the user. The American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration all agree that it is perfectly safe to regularly use a mobile device. It is comforting to receive guarantees from such credible associations as these, however, as a consumer, it is always nice to have all the facts and statistics on hand. That being said, below is a list of the ten best and worst mobile phones in regards to the amount of radiation they emit.

The Top 10 Mobile Phones that Emit the Least Radiation (Watts per Kilogram):

  1. Samsung Impression SGH-a877           0.35
  2. Motorola Razr V8                                     0.36
  3. Samsung Impression SGH-t229            0.38
  4. Samsung Rugby SGH-a837                     0.46
  5. Samsung Propel Pro SGH-i627              0.47
  6. Samsung Gravity SGH-t459                    0.49
  7. T-Mobile Sidekick                                      0.50
  8. LG Xenon GR500                                      0.52
  9. Motorola Karma QA1                                0.55

10.  Sanyo Katana II                                               0.55

Top 10 Mobile Phones that Emit the Most Radiation (Watts per Kilogram)

  1. Motorola Moto VU204                         1.55
  2. T-Mobile MyTouch 3G                         1.55
  3. Kyocera Jax S1300                                1.55
  4. BlackBerry Curve 8330                        1.54
  5. Motorola W385                                     1.54
  6. T-Mobile Shadow                                  1.53
  7. Motorola C290                                       1.53
  8. Motorola i335                                         1.53
  9. Motorola Moto VE240                         1.52

10. BlackBerry Bold 9000                                1.51

It is important to reiterate that all phones on this list are under the 1.6 w/kg limit that the Federal Communications Commission has set as the maximum. The Federal Communications Commission feels that all phones on this list are perfectly safe for the consumer. But if after reading this article, you feel as though you may want to exchange your current phone for something at emits a little less radiation, there is some good news – many phones on the lower side of the radiation spectrum are currently being sold after being refurbished for a fraction of their original cost. This means that, buy purchasing a refurbished cell phone, it may not cost you much to decrease the amount of radiation to which you expose yourself. To find complete list of more than 1,000 phones that were tested for this study, click here.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Next Entries


Copyright © 2007-2010 TheBlueDot, LLC and BlueDot.
All Rights Reserved. BlueDot and the BlueDot logo are registered trademarks of TheBlueDot, LLC,