The popularity of cellular phones all over the world has simply exploded and you can’t go anywhere in the world, not even a poor country that does not even have hot water, where people are not walking around with cell phones. The popularity of these phones is obvious because it makes interpersonal communication significantly easier and faster, however are there any drawbacks to cell phones or even health risks you should be aware of? Of course, when you go buy a cell phone the vendor does not clue you into to anything other than the great benefits, however you should review some of the potential safety issues as well so you know all the benefits and drawbacks to owning a cellular phone.

Is there a Health Risk?

You may have seen on the news or read in the newspaper or even online about possible health risks from using cellular phones. However, to date there is no sound proof that cellular phones can cause health problems. Additionally, there is no sound proof that they do not. Cellular phones emit a radio frequency (RF), albeit small, that are microwaves when the cell phone is in use. Also, when the phone is in standby mode it emits even smaller levels of RF. So, the question is do these low levels of RF waves that are being emitted from the cellular phone produce health hazards?

Currently the consensus is no, however it is widely known that high RF waves do cause health problems due to heating of the body’s tissues. But, the low level RF emissions are not enough to cause heating of the tissues so it does not cause a health risk, right? This is believed to be true and doctors and researchers are continually looking into the subject to detect whether or not cell phones pose a health risk to users or not. At the moment nothing has been discovered so you should be able to use your cell phone with peace of mind that you are not putting your health at risk.

How Will I Know if there is a Health Risk?

As you probably already know the FDA is responsible for reviewing drugs and health related products to ensure they are suitable for public consumption and use and will not cause additional health problems. At the moment the FDA does not review the safety of cellular phones, although it does have the obligation to do so if it is found certain, or all, cellular phones emit RF to the point of affecting the health of users. Although this has not occurred as of yet the FDA does suggest to cell phone manufacturers that they develop the phone in a way as to reduce and minimize RF to the user. Also, the FDA suggests to cell phone manufacturers that they continue studying any possible health effects that might result from the use of cellular telephones and that they be diligent informing consumers of any possible risks that might exist.

What do the Studies Say?

There have also been a variety of studies completed to determine how RF emissions from cellular phones might affect an individual’s health. Studies have been conducted on animals as well as epidemiology studies that do not have conclusive results. The studies on animals had flaws in the way the study was carried out and while exposure to low level RF emissions did show a likelihood to develop cancer in the brain or mouth these animals were already predisposed to developing these types of cancers despite the RF emissions so there is no way a cause and effect relationship can be drawn. Also, the studies had a variety of results that have not been recreated in other studies.

The epidemiolgoy studies did not show a cause and effect relationship between cancer and low lever RF emissions from cell phones for the short term. However, there is no way one can know for sure if the long term use of cell phones is risky or not because no long term studies have been conducted. Of course over time if many individuals start developing brain and mouth cancers after 20 years of talking on the cellular phone then there will be some obvious relationship. However, until the time there is some conclusive evidence as to whether or not cellular phones cause cancer or put an individual at risk for other types of health risks then more studies will be conducted.

What Next?

Studies are continually being conducted to try and determine if there is any relationship between RF emissions and health risks. Time will be one of the biggest factors to determine what, if any, health hazards might be associated with cellular phones. Also, the FDA is working to determine if there are any hazards and if so how to deal with them. If you have a cellular phone and are worried about RF emissions then you might consider using a handset instead of talking on the phone held up to your ear. The reason for this is the farther the cell phone is from your beady the less RF emissions your body will absorb and the less risk, if there is a risk, experienced due to the RF emissions.

This topic is still under debate and probably will be for some time. So, if you are a cell phone user you should do a little research on your own and determine if you believe cell phones pose a risk to your health or not. You can also learn some tricks to reduce the amount of RF emissions and limit your amount of time talking on your cell phone. Regardless, cell phones look like they are here to stay so if there is a health risk researchers need to determine it quickly and fix it so the rest of the world can continue on with their conversations.

Ted Anders of ExpressUnlock, LLC has been involved in the Telecommunications industry since 2000. Unlock Nokia with ExpressUnlocks patented software. We hope you find the above article informative and helpful.

Many people cannot imagine leaving home without a cell phone. Yet if you are over the age of 50 you remember a time when cell phones did not exist and thus you went everywhere without one. Indeed you may have even been a very late adopter of the technology we all take for granted today? Now then can you imagine leaving your home without your cell phone? Many believe this is the case and some say that most Americans are enslaved to our cell phones and will not leave home without them.

Regarding being enslaved to a cell phone that is silly. It is a choice and a convenience. I rarely use a cell phone; I do not play video games, although am finally getting around to considering the home Video Game due to Bill Gate’s major improvements and all the teamwork of the latest designers on the Xbox.

Can you imagine a day not playing a video game? Probably but like a cell phone it too is a choice and a convenience. It is entertainment VS the television or in many cases it is the Television, but a choice to the current programming on the TV Guide.

Many people say that Cell Phones keep us safe incase of emergency on the road or a problem such as being stuck in traffic or such. And this is true, which may at least be part of the reason you will not leave home without your cell phone. But you are not enslaved to it. It is enslaved to you. Think on this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Finally you’re spending the weekend at your friend’s cabin up at the lake. You managed to sneak your laptop up there because you know you’ll need to check your e-mail at least once or twice while you’re out of town.

If there happens to be Ethernet or Wifi available you’ll be in luck – just plug in and you’ll be ready to go! But what if you are in a secluded area? How should you get online?

Sometimes the best solution is to either have a cell phone or cell phone/PDA that acts as a modem, my favorites are the T-Mobile Sidekick and Treo 650.If you have a way to dial in to your ISP this can be a solution.

AOL has local numbers around the US for example. The speed will be slow and you may need to pay roaming charges if you happen to be roaming on a different network, but you will be online!

Keep in mind that some but not all phones can be used as a modem and even then some require a wired connection. If you’re lucky you’ll have one that works via IR (infared) or Bluetooth, so they can talk wirefree to your computer.

Sometimes a phone will have multiple ways to connect to a laptop – choose Bluetooth over IR. USB is also a fine choice if you don’t mind wires. Using USB is easiest – you just plug the USB cable into the phone and the other end plugs into a USB port on your laptop.

Connecting via Bluetooth means that you will need to PAIR the devices first. This means they need to identify each other and talk to each other when they are in range (about 30′). You will need to turn on your Treo 650′s bluetooth function and then make sure it is “discoverable”. Then turn on your laptop’s bluetooth, pair the two devices.

You are now ready to dial up your ISP. You have two options. Use the cell phone as a traditional modem – using your voice minutes to transfer data. This will usually be very slow, but if you have free nighttime calling this may cost you nothing. The other option is to subscribe to your carrier’s data service.

Prices range from $5/month for limited data service on some carriers, to $50/month on other carriers for unlimited data service. The norm is about $20-$30/month for unlimited service. This enables you to use your cell phone as a modem all the time even at home and minutes of internet do not count toward your monthly minutes. This service will usually require a “dial-up script” which you can get from the carrier or sometimes directly from the phone manufacturer’s website. This script gets installed on your laptop.

Another option is to get a cellular card for your laptop. This is a modem/card that automatically accesses the internet via the cellular service. These come with a subscription in most cases.

If you need to be online and you can’t wait to find Hotspots each time you need access – this is the way to go. Prices per month range from $29.99 to $79.99 depending on the carrier and level of service.

A few final words:

- Turn off bluetooth when you aren’t using it – it drains the battery faster than when you have it turned off.

- If you don’t have Bluetooth on your laptop you can buy a Bluetooth Adapter (often called a Bluetooth Dongle) for about $19.

-I recommend buying one branded by Linksys, Netgear or some other well-known company. There are some cheaper ones coming out of China that require special setup on your laptop and may not be as reliable.

This article can also be found at Sam Michelson’s blog: www.guide-to-cell-phones.com

Sam Michelson is a cell phone maven with over 10 years of hi-tech product marketing experience. YouNeverCall Inc. – http://www.YouNeverCall.com has become one of the internet’s most successful independent cell phone stores.Sam’s blog ‘Guide To Cell Phones’ can be found at:- href="http://www.Guide-to-Cell-Phones.com">http://www.Guide-to-Cell-Phones.com