There has been a lot of debate that a cellular phone antenna can be harmful to your health. Let us look into the facts and find out whether these rumors are founded on any truth.

Are There Any Harmful Effects? If Yes, How To Prevent It?

When cars were first invented (even if the highest possible speed was about 20-30 km/hr) people were of the opinion that anyone who will use them regularly will develop dreadful diseases and die. Today, the speed of the vehicles exceeds 200 km/hr and people who drive them (or travel in them) are okay.

Similarly, it is true that the cellular phone antenna emit a certain amount of electromagnetic waves; they also use radio signals to transmit sound. While it is true that over exposure to either (or both) are indeed harmful, the amount produced by a cellular phone antenna during brief normal conversations is has not been found to be sufficient to create a long lasting harmful impact.

The warning of the health hazard had started when the Stewart Report had proved that radio waves (from the cellular phone antenna) do indeed pass through the human body. The report particularly warned about exposure to small children and advised that they should not use this device or at least very sparingly since the radiation can harm and inhibit the formation of brain cells.

One can definitely not do without a cellular phone or the cellular phone antenna. However, we can definitely take a few steps to reduce the radiation effects to the minimum possible. Here are a few suggestions:

• Children should indeed not use cell phones unless in dire emergencies. Whenever they need to speak over the phone, they should do so from normal landlines.
• Whenever you buy a cell phone pay special attention to the SAR (specific absorption rate) factor – the lower the SAR factor is the better it is for you since the radio emission is the least.
• When carrying a mobile phone, keep the device as far from your body as possible. Carry it in pouches, handbags or the like so they can touch the body only during use.
• Keep the conversations as short as you can. This is a good advice for the pocket as well.  Short conversations are not able to emit sufficient radiation to harm the body. If the conversation has to be long, alternate often between one ear and the other so there is no continuous exposure.
• Cut the use of the cell phone to the minimum possible when the reception is poor, as the cellular phone antenna will try to boost its power and hence the radiation to capture the signals will increase.

For people on the go a cell phone is a great convenience.  Not that long ago, you could only make a phone call at places where there were land lines.  Innovative designers and engineers have made cellphones that are small and capable of placing into a pocket or purse.

The first models were cumbersome and expensive, but cellular phones are now more portable and more affordable.  Wise consumers will find an affordable cellular phone for one of the companies that provide this service.  The competition is fierce so great deals can be found with a bit of time and patience.

The cellular phone companies offer a wide variety of cellular phones and cellular phone calling plans.  The plans for an affordable cellular phone include different features so each consumer should decide on their prospective use of the phone.  Then this consumer should study the various plans to see which one best meets their needs and which is the most affordable cellular phone. There are service plans from various companies such as Sprint, Nextel, Cingular, and Verizon cellular phone plans.

Consumers should be cautious before signing any agreements for these include penalties for early termination of the service.  These penalties could add a hefty sum to the cost of the phone in the long run.

Shop Around for the Most Affordable Cellular Phone

The largest expense for a cellular phone is the calling plan that covers the costs for the use of the phone.  There are many factors to consider when choosing a plan to make sure that this is an affordable cellular phone.

Some companies offer the actual phone or at least some models at no cost to attract customers.  The phone may be a real bargain so it might seem an affordable cellular phone at a bargain price.  The cost of the calling plan may negate the bargain price or free offer on the phone.

An affordable cellular phone could be a mistake if the calling plan does not work well in many areas or if the charges are exorbitant in some areas. Traveling to a destination that might be isolated with an affordable cellular phone might render the phone useless.  An educated consumer will examine the coverage area for each separate company.

Separate costs that are hidden may make an affordable cellular phone into an expensive one.  Each consumer should look into any added costs that may not be immediately apparent.  A cellular phone is an excellent tool that as a potential to be an affordable convenience provided you make the right choices.[tags]Affordable Cellular Phone, Verizon cellular phone, Sprint, Nextel, Cingular[/tags]

When speaking of unlocked cell phones people are referring to the SIM card; When you purchase an unlocked cell phone you are not restricted into being with a fixed service plan or any specific network as it can be operated from any one of them.  In essence what this boils down to is that you just purchase the phone and with the service plan you are not signing up with any type of cellular service provider.  This is ideal for people that are not looking to buy a service/phone plan combination or that are looking to own a certain type of phone that are unable to buy from their local retailer for that particular cellular phone provider.

Why Aren’t Cell Phones Unlocked in the First Place?

To guarantee a customer stays with a particular service provider all cellular service providing companies electronically lock their cell phones, to ensure they may only be used with their network.  This is done with the SIM card which stores all the phones customized information, when it connects to the provider’s network, the SIM card is sent an electronic signal which prevents another provider’s network from accessing the card; this is where roaming charges come from, one company charging another to use it’s service towers.

How Can One Unlock a Cell Phone?

There are ways to unlock a cellular phone by entering a particular code which will remove the electronic lock placed on it.  There are companies which sell this information on the internet; these companies will research the phone figure out its SIM card’s code and send it to the end user to unlock their phone to use with another service provider.  This could be very helpful to a person who travels frequently for work or pleasure, as it may reduce roaming charges; unlocked cell phones may connect to any network.

Sometimes Unlocking a Cell Phone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be

Unlocking a cellular phone doesn’t guarantee that the phone will work with all networks, the only way to guarantee an unlocked cell phone will work is to purchase it new from a third party dealer.  Alternately if one were to choose to unlock an existing cell phone their first choice should be to ask their provider to unlock it. The reason for this is simple, because there is no “hacking” into the phones memory or dealing with a third party vendor that little is known about, going directly to the company is probably a safer route.

An Unlocked Cell Phone May Not Be for Everyone

The one downside and one of the reasons that most people shy away from buying an unlocked cell phone from a third party distributor is the price tag; essentially what you pay for an unlocked cell phone is very close if not the same as the manufacturers suggested retail price.  Because of this the majority of people make the choice to buy a cell phone/service plan, in one package which will allow the person to get the phone for free or nearly free, when they put their signature on the dotted line as the saying goes.[tags]Unlocked Cell Phones, cellular service provider, cellular phone[/tags]