Mobile phone users were still in the dark yesterday after a major study concluded there IS a "very slight hint" that long-term use can cause cancer.
The six-year study found no link between mobile phone use and health problems in the short term. But British researchers found a "faint hint" of a higher cancer risk among people who used them for more than 10 years - raising fresh doubts among users of the 70 million handsets now in the UK.
The team said it is "too early" to say if mobiles could lead to cancer or Alzheimer's or Parkinson's and the risk was "at the borderline of statistical significance." Prof Lawrie Challis said: "We cannot rule out the possibility cancer could appear in a few years. The evidence is not strong enough and most cancers cannot be detected until after 10 years. With smoking, there was no link to lung cancer until 10 years."
The £8.8million Mobile Telecommunications and Health Programme comes after a Danish study of 400,000 users concluded mobiles were safe.
The new study also found no evidence that mobile masts cause electrical hypersensitivity, a condition with symptoms such as nausea. The MTHR will investigate further with a £6million study of 200,000 users across Europe.
Lib Dem Evan Harris said: "This suggests no adverse health effects or they are very small or long-term."
But campaigners Mast Sanity said: "The programme hasn't got to the bottom of it - it's too close to industry."
40million people in the UK are now thought to use mobiles Mobile call minutes in UK totalled 82 billion last year There are 70million mobile phone handsets in the UK.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Nokia 8800 - Carbon Arte
I’ve been holding off on doing a blog post about this particular mobile phone for a while now, since, basically, I’m not especially bothered about it. I couldn’t particularly find an angle, other than, “Whoa, how much???” (You’ll see why in a minute.)
But then, the angle came to me, earlier today, while I was writing the post about the Nokia 1100 Club. It hit me, right there.
Luxury mobile phones actually normally don’t do much more than a Nokia 1100 can do… so, what is it about luxury mobile phones that makes people think paying much more, for less features is a good thing? And with that in mind, is the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte worth it?
For comparison, we need to look higher up the scale of luxury mobile phones. We need to look at the Vertu series, long-hailed as the most exclusive range of mobile phones on the planet. And we need to look at their price tags, because they are, quite seriously, ludicrous. I saw one on their site, once, that was covered in platinum, and cost about £14,000!
Surely they must be some super-powered mobile phones to cost that much, right? Well, no, until recently, they could be best described as “a 3310 with a fancy hat on”.
Then there’s that Tiffany mobile phone I blogged about way back in February. At the current exchange rate, that costs roughly £53,000 to buy! And once again, the features-list is rubbish. It’s enough to make you wonder who’s buying these mobile phones… I’m guessing premiership footballers. They value looks over brains…
All that neatly(ish) leads us onto the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, Nokia’s newest luxury mobile phone. And when you compare it to those price tags, it doesn’t seem bad at all, since it’s rumoured that, sim-free, it’ll come in about the £800 mark. Still, that’s a lot of money, so is it just another 3310 in a hat?
Well, no. They’ve actually packed some properly good features into the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, starting with gesture controls. And if you have no idea what they are, I’ll explain using this Nokia’s big feature: to stop it ringing, and send the incoming call to voicemail, just pick it up, turn it over, and put back on the table, face down.
That is clever.
Still not convinced it’s worth £800, though, especially when, if you want a luxury mobile phone, the standard Nokia 8800 Arte is better looking and much, much cheaper! It’s actually quite an appealing purchase, if you can afford it, and you want it, since it’s a genuinely nice mobile phone, and unlike its predecessor, the 8910i, it isn’t bought exclusively by ticket-scalpers and drug dealers…
But then, the angle came to me, earlier today, while I was writing the post about the Nokia 1100 Club. It hit me, right there.
Luxury mobile phones actually normally don’t do much more than a Nokia 1100 can do… so, what is it about luxury mobile phones that makes people think paying much more, for less features is a good thing? And with that in mind, is the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte worth it?
For comparison, we need to look higher up the scale of luxury mobile phones. We need to look at the Vertu series, long-hailed as the most exclusive range of mobile phones on the planet. And we need to look at their price tags, because they are, quite seriously, ludicrous. I saw one on their site, once, that was covered in platinum, and cost about £14,000!
Surely they must be some super-powered mobile phones to cost that much, right? Well, no, until recently, they could be best described as “a 3310 with a fancy hat on”.
Then there’s that Tiffany mobile phone I blogged about way back in February. At the current exchange rate, that costs roughly £53,000 to buy! And once again, the features-list is rubbish. It’s enough to make you wonder who’s buying these mobile phones… I’m guessing premiership footballers. They value looks over brains…
All that neatly(ish) leads us onto the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, Nokia’s newest luxury mobile phone. And when you compare it to those price tags, it doesn’t seem bad at all, since it’s rumoured that, sim-free, it’ll come in about the £800 mark. Still, that’s a lot of money, so is it just another 3310 in a hat?
Well, no. They’ve actually packed some properly good features into the Nokia 8800 Carbon Arte, starting with gesture controls. And if you have no idea what they are, I’ll explain using this Nokia’s big feature: to stop it ringing, and send the incoming call to voicemail, just pick it up, turn it over, and put back on the table, face down.
That is clever.
Still not convinced it’s worth £800, though, especially when, if you want a luxury mobile phone, the standard Nokia 8800 Arte is better looking and much, much cheaper! It’s actually quite an appealing purchase, if you can afford it, and you want it, since it’s a genuinely nice mobile phone, and unlike its predecessor, the 8910i, it isn’t bought exclusively by ticket-scalpers and drug dealers…
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
A Mobile Cause
Incorporating handhelds into the classroom means first having to address a few key challenges.
YOU’VE HEARD THE SPIN: Handhelds increase motivation, encourage networking, are portable, and can costeffectively improve test scores. But implementing a handheld project can be problematic, especially if you’re starting from scratch. What about staff development? Finding appropriate software? Providing adequate technical support?
We talked with teachers and education consultants about incorporating handhelds into instruction. They offered a host of useful suggestions on overcoming the five major challenges of bringing mobile devices into the classroom.
1) Training Teachers. The teachers and consultants we talked to agreed: Staff development presents a considerable hurdle. Without knowledgeable teachers, money spent on new technologies can easily go to waste. Accept that staff development is a big part of a technology rollout, and plan to spend accordingly.
In a just-completed three-year project funded by a No Child Left Behind grant, Christine Tomasino worked with two colleagues and 37 school districts in northern Illinois to incorporate 3,000 handheld devices into fifth- and ninth- grade classrooms. Tomasino, a former teacher and technology director, is now a teaching and learning consultant working out of Joliet, IL. The NCLB project, “Bridging the Disconnects” (www.bridgingthedisconnects.org), used two different handheld devices with wireless and infrared connections—a Palm Tungsten C (www.palm.com) and a Palm-powered device called Dana by AlphaSmart (www1.alphasmart.com), which has a fullsize keyboard. The project focused on reading in the content areas of science and social science.
Tomasino says that more than 100 hours of training were spent per teacher. That sounds like a lot, she concedes, but it included summer training, monthly courses, e-mail support, and “blended” learning opportunities in which other material was taught as well. “Research shows that to change [teaching] practices you need 80-plus hours,” she says. Also, technical support is a must. In many schools, one teacher drives technology forward and supports the devices on the strength of pure knowledge and enthusiasm. That can work, but if you don’t have a technology driver at your school, make sure to get the IT folks you do have on board to commit to providing support.
YOU’VE HEARD THE SPIN: Handhelds increase motivation, encourage networking, are portable, and can costeffectively improve test scores. But implementing a handheld project can be problematic, especially if you’re starting from scratch. What about staff development? Finding appropriate software? Providing adequate technical support?
We talked with teachers and education consultants about incorporating handhelds into instruction. They offered a host of useful suggestions on overcoming the five major challenges of bringing mobile devices into the classroom.
1) Training Teachers. The teachers and consultants we talked to agreed: Staff development presents a considerable hurdle. Without knowledgeable teachers, money spent on new technologies can easily go to waste. Accept that staff development is a big part of a technology rollout, and plan to spend accordingly.
In a just-completed three-year project funded by a No Child Left Behind grant, Christine Tomasino worked with two colleagues and 37 school districts in northern Illinois to incorporate 3,000 handheld devices into fifth- and ninth- grade classrooms. Tomasino, a former teacher and technology director, is now a teaching and learning consultant working out of Joliet, IL. The NCLB project, “Bridging the Disconnects” (www.bridgingthedisconnects.org), used two different handheld devices with wireless and infrared connections—a Palm Tungsten C (www.palm.com) and a Palm-powered device called Dana by AlphaSmart (www1.alphasmart.com), which has a fullsize keyboard. The project focused on reading in the content areas of science and social science.
Tomasino says that more than 100 hours of training were spent per teacher. That sounds like a lot, she concedes, but it included summer training, monthly courses, e-mail support, and “blended” learning opportunities in which other material was taught as well. “Research shows that to change [teaching] practices you need 80-plus hours,” she says. Also, technical support is a must. In many schools, one teacher drives technology forward and supports the devices on the strength of pure knowledge and enthusiasm. That can work, but if you don’t have a technology driver at your school, make sure to get the IT folks you do have on board to commit to providing support.
A Conspicous Consumption
This interesting video from ABC News' Sign of the Times reflects the role of mobile phones in measuring wealth and bragging our social status in this ecosystem. After all what's the use of money if you can't show it, right? It also offers a glimpse on the person's personality, level of income, inclination to technology, and even level of insecurity.
I suppose the mobile phone industry has reached a level defined by renowned sociologist Thorstein Veblen as Conspicuous Consumption or lavish spending. A level where fashion outweighs function!
A recent report from Reuters highlights the 7 most expensive cellphones in the market today:
1. GoldVish Le Million - $1.3 Million
2. Bucheron for Vertu Cobra - $310,000
3. Vertu Signature - $81,000
4. Gresso Black Aura Collection - $13,000
5. Mobiado Professional EM - $2,200
6. pradalinks Phone by LG - $780
7. Apple iPhone - $600
I suppose the mobile phone industry has reached a level defined by renowned sociologist Thorstein Veblen as Conspicuous Consumption or lavish spending. A level where fashion outweighs function!
A recent report from Reuters highlights the 7 most expensive cellphones in the market today:
1. GoldVish Le Million - $1.3 Million
2. Bucheron for Vertu Cobra - $310,000
3. Vertu Signature - $81,000
4. Gresso Black Aura Collection - $13,000
5. Mobiado Professional EM - $2,200
6. pradalinks Phone by LG - $780
7. Apple iPhone - $600
Mobile Cause Headaches
If the last thing you do before going to sleep is play with your mobile phone, you might need to change that habit. According to a study sponsored by Mobile Manufacturers Forum, radiation emitted by mobile phones can cause headaches and damage sleep.
Even if this is not a serious as other potential health risks associated with mobile phones such as cancer, it is still disturbing given that many kids love to play with their cellphones at night. According to Telegraph:
The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep, believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear, are adversely affected.
Moreover, participants that otherwise have no self-reported symptoms related to mobile phone use appear to have more headaches during actual radio frequency exposure.
The sample size of the study is very small - 35 men and 36 women. Still, you may want to check again the most radiation-intensive mobile phones in the market so you can minimize future headaches.
Even if this is not a serious as other potential health risks associated with mobile phones such as cancer, it is still disturbing given that many kids love to play with their cellphones at night. According to Telegraph:
The study indicates that during laboratory exposure to 884 MHz wireless signals, components of sleep, believed to be important for recovery from daily wear and tear, are adversely affected.
Moreover, participants that otherwise have no self-reported symptoms related to mobile phone use appear to have more headaches during actual radio frequency exposure.
The sample size of the study is very small - 35 men and 36 women. Still, you may want to check again the most radiation-intensive mobile phones in the market so you can minimize future headaches.
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