Is Your BlackBerry Frying Your Brain?
If you productivity hounds didn't have enough to worry about already, here's a new factor to take into consideration: Your favorite organization tool might be harmful to your health.
The Environmental Working Group has released a list ranking more than 1,000 cell phones and smartphones by the amount of radiation emitted. According to the organization's research, the BlackBerry Curve (8300 and 8330 models) and the BlackBerry Bold 9000 were among the smartphones emitting the highest amount of radiation.
Why is this a concern? Although there's still debate about whether cell-phone radiation is truly harmful, the EWG says studies find significantly higher risks for brain and salivary gland tumors among people using cell phones for 10 years or longer.
Well, you're probably not going to ditch your smartphone, but here are 5 ways to reduce your risks from cell-phone radiation.
- Choose a device that emits less radiation. Happily for BlackBerry aficionados, another model -- the Storm (9530 and 9500) -- is among the lowest-radiation choices.
- Use a headset or speaker. If you use a wireless headset, take it off your ear if you're not on a call (some models emit continuous, low-level radiation).
- Talk less. Your phone doesn't emit radiation when you're checking messages, only when you're chatting.
- Text more. Texting uses less power (and thus, less radiation) than voice calling and also keeps the phone away from your head.
- Call only when you've got strong signal bars. Using your phone in a weak-signal area requires more radiation to get the signal to the tower.