Posted on September 10, 2009, at 11:09 am .
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The Environmental Working Group, believe that cellphone radiation standards are outdated and we should review them.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]
[Via]
Posted on November 13, 2008, at 1:01 am .
On the same day that T-Mobile Germany officially announced the device, the BlackBerry Curve 8900 has passed US FCC approval. While the Curve 8900 will eventually be available on both T-Mobile and AT&T in the US, look for it to hit T-Mobile first. You can find the FCC link and some initial reviews of the BlackBerry Curve 8900 at the links below.
BlackBerry Curve FCC approval
Multiple BlackBerry Curve 8900 reviews
Posted on September 29, 2008, at 10:12 am .
The FCC is currently voting on what to do about the D-Block, the 700Mhz chunk of the wireless public safety spectrum which had previously been up for auction despite Verizon’s litigious attempts to block it. However, many commercial bidders fear that the auction plan as structured is not commercially viable, while public safety groups and a few members of Congress feel that the spectrum would be more effectively split into regional licenses rather than a national one.
Ars Technica has a wonderful summary of the entire situation, which can be found here.
Posted on July 10, 2008, at 8:56 am .
There hasn’t been much hard and fast information on the guts of the upcoming BlackBerry 9000, but it’s made it through the FCC approval gauntlet and emerged with plenty of specs. A lot of the report is funky-coloured thermal graphs and radiation tests, but interestingly many indicate WCDMA readings. I’m no engineer, but maybe a CDMA BlackBerry Bold is on the way sooner than you think… More importantly is the timing of the filing. The tests ran around late April, and the first we heard of the BlackBerry Bold battery bruhaha was late March. Sending in reports to the FCC involves a fair bit of device-polishing on RIM’s part – I’m sure it would have been a little unfair back then to bash the Bold before it was even ready for the FCC, just as it might be unfair to stomp all over other upcoming devices well before they’ve gone through the testing ropes. Jussayin’.
(PhoneArena via Rimarkable)
Posted on November 19, 2007, at 4:40 pm .
The FCC has released the docs and testing information for the BlackBerry 8120, giving us hope, however vain, of a North American release. The recently-cleared instruction manual for the BlackBerry 8120 doesn’t reveal too much that’s new about the Wi-Fi, GSM Pearl. UMA (voice handoff to Wi-Fi) is working soundly, making T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home a likely target for the new device.
Posted on November 19, 2007, at 3:29 pm .
Back before its acquisition by Sprint, Nextel’s airwaves were overlapping a little too much with fire department and police radio frequencies, causing a bit of a stir. Nextel promised the FCC to fix the issue, and were on board to make a complete switch even after being bought up by Sprint. Well, they’re trying to buy more time, but the FCC isn’t listening. If Sprint can’t meet the deadline, Nextel’s some 20-odd million subscribers could have the plug pulled on them. Hopefully this is just big talk on the FCC’s part to light a fire under Sprint to get the rebanding done, but if not, there could be even more unhappy Sprint customers in the world.
Posted on September 14, 2007, at 10:59 am .
We haven’t talked much about the whole open access frequency thing since the implications on BlackBerrys and RIM in particular haven’t been made completely clear yet. Regulations on the bidding process are still being finalized, but what’s been established so far can be found here. Suppose Block C, which will have to remain publicly available by the winning bidder, gets bought up. RIM already manages to offer some services, like BlackBerry Maps and BlackBerry Messenger of their own accord. This week’s contest asks you, BBCool readers: what would you like to see RIM do with its share of open spectrum? It’s not much, and there’s bound to be plenty of limitations on what can be used over the frequency, but let’s say there’s just a little bit of network that BlackBerrys would be able to use regardless of carrier. That opens up some very interesting possibilities not only for RIM, but for third-party developers too. Google and Skype are both pushing hard for the open access; Google and RIM are already pretty tight… what can we hope to see from The Big G? The one to leave the most compelling application for Block C on BlackBerrys will get 3 free themes from Bplay.
The extra-long contest we mentioned earlier is going to be postponed until next week. Sit tight!
Check behind the jump for last week’s winner!
Posted on September 14, 2007, at 8:44 am .
If you’ve been following wireless news, you’ll have heard about FCC’s push to designate a chunk of the wireless spectrum as open access, meaning there would be some airspace that isn’t tied down to a particular carrier. Progress has been pretty steady on opening some of the 700mhz range up for bid in January, but Verizon has finally piped up and called the whole thing “arbitrary and capricious, unsupported by substantial evidence and otherwise contrary to law.“, whatever that really means. Skype and Google have been all for the change, but Verizon’s litigation will likely slow this whole thing down.
Posted on August 8, 2007, at 1:04 pm .
The FCC has passed a ruling that will force all American carriers to make their networks available to compatible handsets for a “reasonable” fee, which will hopefully translate to lower roaming rates. A hard cap hasn’t been imposed, but the big thing here is that open roaming access has been established. Rural citizens are pretty happy now that the smaller carriers they subscribe to will finally be able to offer wider access. Unfortunately, no such resolutions have been applied to data charges.
“I believe we should have taken another step forward today,” said Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat. “Consumers rely upon their mobile handsets these days for a dizzying array of data services, going well beyond those we cover in today’s item.”
Posted on July 18, 2007, at 7:54 am .
Hot off the presses, we’ve got news that the BlackBerry 8820 is en route, packing delicious Wi-Fi connectivity. Wi-Fi 802.11 a, b and g will all be supported, as documented in the FCC patent last week, and not only for data. Generic Access Networking (a.k.a. UMA) will allow for seamless dual-mode calling while in a Wi-Fi hotspot. Although that’s the big feature, besides which the device is largely an 8800, the new BlackBerry will also also be bringing a few other goodies. For one, it will support microSDHC memory cards, meaning up to 32GB of storage capacity. We looked at the 8 GB cards that are in the works from Samsung not too long ago. No 3G just yet, still quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE. GPS is in there too, and RIM also points out AZERTY and QWERTZ keypad availability, pointing to an early launch in both France and Germany. In fact, RIM’s handset index lists France as the only European country confirmed to carry the 8820 so far.
Press release and more behind the jump.
