We often hear about the potential dangers posed by cell phones and the non-ionizing radiation they emit, but there is still no consensus on whether they can be directly linked to cancer or any other health problem.
CTIA, the American Cancer Society, World Health Organization and Food and Drug Administration, among others, have “all have concurred that wireless devices are not a public health risk,”
The Environmental Working Group, believe that cellphone radiation standards are outdated and we should review them. This news comes on the heels of the World Health Organization’s recommendations on cellphone usage, which is to be released October 2009.
On the list of the Top 10 worst perpetrators, 2 BlackBerry devices show up, and they come in right under what the FCC deems to be acceptable.
Overall, we should wait until the WHO comes out with their study in October 2009. While we know low levels of radiation have no impact in a short period of time, it’s hard to say what the impact will be over long periods of time.
[Special thanks to Michael K for sending this in at tips [at] blackberrycool [dot] com]
I have taken my BlackBerry device to several conferences and I’ve found that there are a few applications I cannot live without. These applications should help you save money and be organized while on the road.
Mobile Data Alerter
Mobile Data Alerter is a simple application that allows you to set thresholds for all your data rates. The app will monitor your WiFi data, roaming and non-roaming data. By setting alerts for your roaming and non-roaming data, you can be assured that you won’t get a huge bill at the end of the month.
If you’re a terrestrial radio gal or guy, you might recognize Clear Channel – owners of the radio airwaves in the United States. If you’ve fallen in love with one of Clear Channel’s many stations from across the USA and find yourself unable to hear your favorite stations or on-air personality, don’t fret, I Heart Radio is here! You can still listen to your favorite station via your BlackBerry now. The I Heart Radio application is available for free via the BlackBerry App World.
Are you finding that you’re getting a little soft around the mid-section from reading too many blogs and eating more than your body intended? Lance Armstrong’s foundation, LIVESTRONG is here to save you from yourself. The BlackBerry LIVESTRONG application, available now for $2.99 from the BlackBerry App World, helps you set goals for your physical fitness, including caloric intake and exercise. Check out the video above for more details.
RIM is expected to announce App World on April 1st at CTIA. Mike Lazaridis is slated to give a keynote which may contain the announcement.
App World will only be taking a 20% cut from developers whereas Apple takes 30%. App World is also shaping up to be a significant consumer portal and will help RIM secure its new founded growth in the consumer market. Enterprise will also take to the App World and we can expect many small to medium sized businesses picking up applications to help with productivity.
Avanquest Software is going to be showcasing their latest product at CTIA: a fully-featured interactive photo sharing solution.
The app is called SendPhotos, and it is available for the BlackBerry Bold and Pearl. Membership at SendPhotos includes a free mobile phone client, free PC client, and free online access with 1GB of online storage space throughout the duration of the beta phase.
Here is a breakdown of what to expect from each client:
SendPhotos Mobile
Automates upload of snapshots to SendPhotos.com
A convenient Set-up Wizard.
Avoid costly data charges that can otherwise occur when uploading photos while roaming.
SendPhotos PC
Providing the flexibility of online or offline organizing.
Easy upload, download and synchronizing of photos and image albums .
Cropping, redeye reduction and color and contrast correction tools for use before sharing images.
SendPhotos Web
A personal and private online cache for uploading, archiving, synchronization and sharing of digital images.
Allows access only to user-authorized family, friends and associates without third-party publicity or search-engine pickup and dissemination across the Internet.
A simple drag-and-drop, animated and extremely fluid interface facilitates the easy transfer of stored photos to a variety of external photo sharing and social networking sites, including Picasa, MySpace and many others.
To become part of the BETA test phase, get your free membership here.
The TicketMaster app for BlackBerry was first mentioned during CTIA in September. As of now, there is a sign up page where you can get alerted as soon as the app becomes available.
Ticketmaster for BlackBerry® smartphones—your mobile connection to event, concert game and theatre tickets. Designed to make buying tickets more convenient, you can browse event listings, select your seats and even buy your tickets from just about anywhere using familiar BlackBerry menus and prompts. It also works with BlackBerry® Wallet to help you fill in credit card and shipping information. And, as the official smartphone of Ticketmaster, your BlackBerry smartphone can also be your connection to advanced or reserved tickets as well as special events, rewards and fantastic promotions.
This should be a great app for socialites who need to get their tickets pronto. Now go to the sign up page, you’re late for the ball Cinderella!
To sign up and get notifications for when TicketMaster is available, go here.
A reality of every technology conference is that news gets missed, and this year’s CTIA was no different. Ironically, we missed meeting up with the boys and girls of I2 Telecom not because of general conference business, but poor scheduling on my end. When I saw I2’s press release hit the wires today, I was immediately reminded just how excited I was to see their MyGlobalTalk service.
Put simply, MyGlobalTalk is a VoIP application that allows you to talk to friends and family oversees on the cheap through the magic of the Internet. Requiring only a single call and rates as low as 2 cents per minute, MyGlobalTalk sounds like a winner, even while in beta.
Look for more about MyGlobalTalk on BlackBerry Cool in the future. For now, go to http://www.myglobaltalk.com for more information.
Here’s a quick video of Syfire’s mobile web browser from their session earlier today. The video quality is poor, but man does that thing look great! Supports ajax, flash, silverlight, runs faster than opera and safari mobile and it’s only in beta. Did I mention it’s free? We’re talking with Skyfire later this week so expect more info to come.
Not much to say here. We told you this was going to happen yesterday. It’s extremely late and we have many more interesting things to post about, but make sure to to say hello to RIM’s first FlipBerry after the jump.
