Turn your phone off or use airplane mode.

When not using your phone, turn the thing off. Problem solved. If you can’t, many phones have a function that allows their cellphones to be used on airplanes. Airplane mode cuts off all wireless transmissions from your cellular device, so there is no radiation being emitted. A bonus is that the phone uses less energy to operate when wireless transmissions are halted, so it saves battery.

Guys, don’t keep the phone in your pocket.

If you’re a guy and you keep the cellphone in your front pocket, you could be putting your sperm count in danger. A recent study suggests that cellphone use is linked to lower sperm quality and a decrease in fertility. While cellphone usage seems to increase the level of testosterone in the body, there is a lower level of luteinizing hormone, which plays a big role in the reproductive system. If you’re looking to start a family at some point, better keep your phone away from the family jewels. Turn off your phone, put it on airplane mode or get a satchel.

Don’t check Facebook in the middle of the night.

Some people take their phones to bed with them, which can disturb sleep. According to a survey done by iPass, 58 per cent of those surveyed who keep their smartphones within arm’s reach wake up during the night to check their phones. About 11 per cent of those people checked their phone every single night. Even if you’re not that compulsive and use it as an alarm, cellphone radiation can still impact your sleep. A team of researchers in Sweden did a one-year study where they followed over 4,000 young adult cellphone users. Their research suggested that a high frequency of cell phone use can lead to increased sleep disturbances. If you use your phone as an alarm clock, put it in airplane mode.

Text, text, text.

As I’m sure you know, sending texts requires less signal power than making calls. Texting is a simple way to avoid radiation exposure, so when you can opt for texting over calling them. Unless you’re texting to break up with someone. Then you’re just being a loser.

Use an air-tube headset.

While the cellphone industry loves to tout headsets as “safer,” the wires used can drive harmful cellphone transmission straight into your ear. An alternative is an “air-tube” headset that functions similar to a stethoscope. It uses a hollow air-tube to transmit sound from a speaker located at a distance from the head. The tube and earpiece contain no metal conductors, which eliminates any radiation present in conventional headsets.

Use the speakerphone setting.

No cash for a new headset? Use speaker mode when talking on your cellphone and place the phone at least 5 feet away from you. The farther the cellphone is the better. Just make sure they can still hear you.

Keep conversations short.

Don’t have an hour long conversation with your boyfriend or girlfriend before bed. Even a two-minute call has been found to alter the natural electrical activity of the brain for up to an hour afterwards. Use Skype if you want to say goodnight or to catch up with an old friend or call your parents. Provided you don’t have one of those old school computers with the giant monitor.

Be mindful of good and bad reception.

The harder the phone works to establish a connection, the more radiation is being emitted. Don’t use your cellphone in an area with poor reception. If you’re trying to talk to your buddy on the subway, just wait until you get to an area with better reception. Don’t use the cell phone in enclosed metal spaces such as vehicles or elevators. Also, wait for the call to connect before placing your phone next to your ear.

By following any of these simple steps, you’re reducing the amount of cellphone radiation frying your brain and affecting your body.

The post Tips To Prevent Cellphone Radiation Brain Nukage appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Apple has been under scrutiny for the iPhone 4′s flawed antenna which loses signal if users hold the device in a certain way. Israeli company Tawkon developed an app that lets iPhone users see and lower their exposure to cellphone radiation, and the app showed that the iPhone releases an increased amount of radiation when struggling to find a clear signal.

Last year Tawkon had discussed the possibility of getting the app into the App Store with senior Apple executives. However, after emailing Steve Jobs in August 2010 and requesting for the app to be approved, Jobs replied back with two words: “No interest.” It’s not clear if Jobs was upset with Tawkon demonstrating that the faulty antenna is connected to increased radiation, or if Jobs personally rebuffs the notion that cellphone non-ionizing radiation affects human health.

Tawkon announced on March 23 2011 that they will provide the app for free on Cydia. The app has also been approved by RIM and is available on Blackberry AppWorld for $9.

In an ironic twist, Stephen Colbert recently revealed on his show that you can text “redcross” to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Japan, but the iPhone will autocorrect “redcross” to “reactor.”

What we wanted to know is, how can an app measure the amount of radiation in a cellphone? There are several factors that affect the levels of radiation we are exposed to when using mobile devices, Tawkon co-founder Ori Goshen explained in an email. The factors include the location of the cell phone, like whether the phone is shielded from a phone network in an elevator or behind a concrete wall. Additional factors include the shape and size of the phone, weather conditions and distance of the phone to your head.

The amount of mobile phone non-ionizing radiation we are exposed to is measured in units called SAR (Specific Absorption Rate). According to Goshen, SAR levels of mobile phones change constantly based on the factors mentioned.

All the information related to the radiation emitted by the mobile phone is stored in the phone itself because this information is required by the phone for its normal operation. For example, it needs to know how much power to transmit in order to keep the voice or data connection while the user is talking or browsing,

The Tawkon app collects and analyzes your phone’s changing SAR levels, network coverage, location, environmental conditions and phone usage and uses all these factors to determine actual radiation exposure levels.

The SAR values are being calibrated in an Radio Frequency (RF) lab on a SAR measurement machine to ensure radiation levels are accurately monitored, Goshen said.

The app demonstrates the level of radiation using a bar, and the cellphone user can set the app to send email alerts telling the user to switch to a headset or earphones if the radiation is higher than normal. While this could protect you from higher levels of radiation from your own phone, it does nothing for the radiation emitted by cell phone towers in the proximity, or the cellphone wedged against your ear by someone too close for comfort on the subway.

There has been debate whether non-ionizing radiation in cellphones causes any harm at all. In fact, is radiation the right word, with all its weight and connotations? Is Tawkon attaching too much importance to RF transmission?

According to the World Health Organization, no recent national or international reviews have concluded that exposure to RF fields from mobile phones cause any health effects.  However, many independent labs and organizations continue to find information contrary of WHO reports.

A 2004 Swedish study found that an increased risk of acoustic neuroma, a type of benign brain tumour, was associated with mobile phone use. It’s worth noting this risk occurred only if the cellphone user had operated mobile phones for more than 10 years. Most recently, out of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Brookhaven National Lab (BNL) have found the obvious fact that cell phone radiation can affect the normal functioning of the human brain.

However, the general conscencus among the medical and scientific community is that while there is no direct link between mobile use and health effects, “more research is needed” to fully repudiate the claim.

We have yet to see how and if Apple will respond to the jailbreak.

[Tawkon Download]

The post Radiation Detection App Rejected by Apple – Goes Through iPhone Jailbreak appeared first on Mobile Magazine.