Which Smartphones Emit The Most Radiation?
February 21, 2010
Motorola Droid, BlackBerry Bold 9700, LG Chocolate Touch and HTC Nexus One are pushing the limits of radiofrequency radiation safety limits set by the Federal Communications Commission, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
The EWG says the ads and good ratings for those smartphones do not reveal they are some of the highest radiation emitters among the phones currently on the market.
The report found there are three new phones that emit significantly less radiation including Motorola Brute, Pantech Impact and Samsung Mythic.
"A number of health agencies around the world advise people to reduce exposures to cell phone radiation, driven by recent studies raising questions about the safety of this radiation, particularly for children," said Jane Houlihan, senior vice president for research at Environmental Working Group.
"That's why it's essential for consumers to have radiation output information before they purchase phones for themselves and their families."
EWG has updated its online consumer guide to cell phone radiation, launched last year, to cover the latest mobile devices. The guide contains information on more than 1,000 cell phones and smartphones available in the U.S.
Verizon Adds Skype Calls To Smartphones
February 17, 2010
Verizon Wireless has partnered with Skype on a Skype mobile application that will launch on smartphones in March.
The move makes Verizon the first major U.S. carrier to offer Skype to its mobile users. The Skype mobile app is for smartphone users who have a data plan with Verizon.
Initially, Skype mobile will be available on smartphones with data plans including the BlackBerry Storm 9530, Storm 2, Curve, Droid by Motorola, Droid Eris by HTC and Motorola Devour.
Key features of Skype mobile include:
*Make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls globally
*Make international calls at lower calling rates
*Instant messaging to other Skype users
"Skype mobile on Verizon Wireless changes the game. For Verizon Wireless' more than 90 million customers, Skype mobile adds great value because we're effectively giving customers with smartphones and data plans the option to extend their unlimited calling community to hundreds of millions of Skype users around the globe," said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless.
Google Announces Another Android Device Giveaway
January 23, 2010
Game developers - or at least the game developers who attend the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco - are likely to hold Google and Android in much higher regard after March 9th and 10th. Google's announced that it will give away quite a lot of Android devices on those dates.
Google's employed this strategy to build hype before. You may remember, for example, that the 4,000 or so people who attended Google I/O received HTC Magics free of charge. Most folks were quite grateful (and those who weren't probably became happier after selling the phones for $800 on eBay).
Now, as stated on the Android Developers Blog, "Google and GDC will . . . be providing complimentary Android phones to attendees who register for All Access or Tutorials and Summits passes by the Early Bird deadline of February 4, 2010. Qualified attendees will receive either a Nexus One or a Verizon Droid by Motorola, so they can quickly apply what they learn from the various Android sessions."
Nice, eh? And relatively smart, too. Games are popular with all sorts of people, so if game developers create some good ones for Android, the mobile operating system might seem a little more attractive as a result.
A note to cynics: the only real "catch" concerning this offer appears to be that the Droid and Nexus One recipients "may be asked to take a short 10-15 question survey, post-GDC."
Have You Read This?
> Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release
> Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China
> Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile
Top 15 Things You Loved to Talk About in 2009
January 3, 2010
Just as we did at the end of 2008, we have gone back through our entire archive for the year 2009 and picked out the articles that received the most conversation from our readers. As we approach the new year, we thought it would be fun to go back and reflect on some of the things that got people talking in the one that's wrapping up.
Note: Please keep in mind that some of the articles are a bit outdated now as new developments have occurred throughout the year.
1. eBay Wants its Sellers Back
This article received the most commentary by far from WebProNews readers out of every article we produced this year.
2. Top 10 Frustrations for eBay Sellers
Another article on a related subject was also discussed frequently.
3. Does DMOZ Still Have a Place in Search?
Indicating that DMOZ is still definitely a topic worthy of discussion, DMOZ's value was debated thoroughly in the comments on this article.
4. Do You Respect DMOZ After 11 Years?
DMOZ was also a hot topic after the company had its 11th birthday. It was quite interesting to find out what people thought after 11 years of the directory's existence.
5. eBay Competitor Bonanzle Continues Big-Time Growth
As was made clear in a number of eBay articles we ran, a lot of users of that site were not very happy. Competitors took advantage. This was a look at the success of one competitor in particular.
6. House Says Bloggers Don't Count As Journalists
The bloggers vs. journalists debate is always a hot one. Of course when the government gets involved with that debate, some heavy commentary will ensue.
7. Apple Fans Respond To The "Droid Does" Advertising Campaign
Apple fans love to talk. So do Apple haters. That point was very clear in the comments we received on this article.
8. Netbooks: Moving in Right Next Door to Useless
Mike ruffled some feathers with his criticism of the Netbook phenomenon. Although he certainly had plenty who agreed with his views.
9. Can eBay Win Back Sellers with a Shift in Focus?
eBay sparked some interest yet again when it announced its focus on the "secondary market".
10. eBay Unleashes Changes Galore for Sellers
Any time eBay makes changes that affect sellers, you can pretty much guarantee that people are going to talk.
11. Is MySpace Toast?
MySpace's future is discussed as Facebook takes over as the dominant social network.
12. Google: Page Speed May Become a Ranking Factor in 2010
Google's Matt Cutts dropped a hint that page speed may be considered as a ranking factor by the search engine soon. Some think this is a great idea, others think it's horrible.
13. The AP's Desperate Attempt To Outlaw Search Engine Links
A discussion about the Associated Press and fair use of content.
14. Murdoch On Blocking Search Engines: "I Think We Will"
News Corp. CEO Murdoch said some interesting things about how it plans to distribute its content in the future. This is still a hot topic.
15. Shocker: Facebookers Not Happy With Redesign
I'm sure you recall the big Facebook redesign. A lot of people are still bitter about it.
Looking back at some of these articles, it's hard to believe they've all come from just this year. It's amazing how much has happened in search, e-commerce, and social media. The rate at which everything changes and evolves is really quite astounding. I guess that can be attributed to the real-time nature in which we consume information now, and the sheer amount of content that is poured onto the web every minute of every day.
To get an idea of what I mean, just go to any of our tag pages and look back through our coverage of any given topic. Go to the Google tag, for example, and look at the enormous amount of things Google has been a part of this year alone.
Share your thoughts about 2009 here...
