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"Putting this iPhone 4 in your pocket will likely couple more energy into your body (you bag of salt water, you) than did the first generation model. Yep, I pr

"Putting this iPhone 4 in your pocket will likely couple more energy into your body (you bag of salt water, you) than did the first generation model. Yep, I predict it will be worse." I hope this isn't dangerous to your health. He is buying one, so I assume not.

ChRoss 16y ago
I have a 3GS, and every time I pick up call from desk phone (with iPhone at the desk), I will experience interference. Now, I need to put my 3GS around half meter away every time there's call to office line. I wonder if anyone experience this also.
- jarek 16y ago
  It is the same kind of chatter you might be able to hear in speakers when the phone is nearby? That's a standard GSM thing -- GSM uses specific RF frequencies which induce the noise. ("GSM chatter" is a reasonably common name for this.)
  - nitrogen 16y ago
    This is one of the reasons I prefer CDMA. It is really, really annoying to be in a public address setting (i.e. a church, auditorium, stadium) and hear peoples' phones in the sound system. Yes, it is a sign of a miswired installation, but in my experience it only happens with GSM phones.
- jonny_noog 16y ago
  I have a 3GS and I find that I need to place it about a metre from my computer's speakers to avoid audible interference. All my previous phones have done this as well (last before the 3GS was a Sony Ericsson w800i), but they didn't need to be placed as far away from the speakers before the interference could no longer he heard.
  - X-Istence 16y ago
    Get some speakers that are properly shielded and have ferrite beads on the speaker connection. My JBL Pro speakers never have interference from my iPhone.
    - chopsueyar 16y ago
      I agree, you must change your lifestyle if you want to use the iPhone. I have even remodeled my home to include a bedroom dedicated to my iPhone. Totally worth it.
    - jonny_noog 16y ago
      It's probably time I upgrade my speakers, I've had them for some time now. It's a Klipsch 2.1 set from about 3 years ago. I was under the impression that Klipsch was a reasonably good quality brand, but I guess they're missing these ferrite beads you speak of. Something to keep in mind for when I do upgrade, thanks.
  - CountSessine 16y ago
    That's interesting. It suggests that your iphone is typically on a 2G GSM network, rather than a 3G UMTS/HSPA network. GSM is known for causing audio interference because the TDMA transmission window cycles at about 200Hz. Does your 3GS say '3G' on the status bar while it's interfering with your speakers?
    - ChRoss 16y ago
      In my office room, hardly get the 3G status, but the phone signal is full. I had no problem with my previous phone (Dopod).
      - CountSessine 16y ago
        Was your Dopod GSM, UMTS, or CDMA? UMTS and CDMA phones won't do generate audio-domain interference. Any 2G GSM phone, from the most expertly-designed Nokia or Ericsson to the worst Huawei will interfere with your speakers.
megablast 16y ago
Why would the iPhone be any different to any other phone, in that regards. They all emit radio waves, the iPhone doesn't emit any stronger than any other phone, by much anyway.
- Luc 16y ago
  The radio on the phone uses the least power it can while still maintaining a good connection to the tower. A faulty antenna will make the radio increase its transmission power.
jodrellblank 16y ago
"While certain media outlets continue to claim that regular cell phone use is unlikely to cause brain cancer, you should know that Interphone found "heavy users" of cell phones were found to have an approximately doubled risk of glioma, a life threatening and often-fatal brain tumor, after 10 years of cell phone use. What was the definition of a heavy user? About two hours … a month! When this study was conducted (1999-2004), cell phone use had not yet exploded to the extent it has today. Now, the results are clearly outdated, because in the decade that's passed since the study was begun, cell phone use has grown exponentially and it is not at all unusual for people to use a cell phone for two hours or more a day! What this means is that if you use your cell phone for two hours a month or more, you may be doubling your risk of a potentially fatal brain tumor. Use your cell phone significantly more than that, and your risk is likely much, much higher." http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/06/10/how-the-telecom-industry-deceives-you-about-brain-cancer-risk-and-cell-phones.aspx http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/06/10/how-the-...
- jurjenh 16y ago
  It is important to compare the amount of radiation here though... I'm pretty sure new phones are a bit more efficient with their signals, battery life has increased phenomenally and this must be partly due to lower power usage. Although with phones like the iPhone, you've got several types of wireless going at the same time... Anyone got recent, non-biased studies on the same?
- ubernostrum 16y ago
  None of the studies I've ever seen on this have proposed a mechanism by which radiation from a cellular phone causes cancer, which seems to be a bit of a hurdle given that some novel mechanism would be necessary (as far as I'm aware, the radiation emitted by a cell phone is well below -- orders of magnitude below -- the necessary level of energy to break chemical bonds, which is, well, sort of a prerequisite for radiation to cause cancer).
- hoggle 16y ago
  As you seem to be well informed about the topic: Do you know if it is usual for cellphone designers to use the optional headset/headphone combination as an extended antenna and if so if it is still better to prefer it to a bluetooth based solution? I think this is something a lot of people would like to know as heavy cellphone use ia often unavoidable these days.
mikecane 16y ago
This is my major concern about the iPhone 4 and why I have planned to skip it: since when is holding a phone by its antenna a good thing? I'd like reassurance there is no health danger, especially after reading this: Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation?printable=true http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-...
- CamperBob 16y ago
  This is my major concern about the iPhone 4 and why I have planned to skip it: since when is holding a phone by its antenna a good thing? Since the EM radiation you receive from your desk lamp is a thousand times more energetic?

ChRoss 16y ago

I have a 3GS, and every time I pick up call from desk phone (with iPhone at the desk), I will experience interference. Now, I need to put my 3GS around half meter away every time there's call to office line. I wonder if anyone experience this also.

jarek 16y ago
It is the same kind of chatter you might be able to hear in speakers when the phone is nearby? That's a standard GSM thing -- GSM uses specific RF frequencies which induce the noise. ("GSM chatter" is a reasonably common name for this.)
- nitrogen 16y ago
  This is one of the reasons I prefer CDMA. It is really, really annoying to be in a public address setting (i.e. a church, auditorium, stadium) and hear peoples' phones in the sound system. Yes, it is a sign of a miswired installation, but in my experience it only happens with GSM phones.
jonny_noog 16y ago
I have a 3GS and I find that I need to place it about a metre from my computer's speakers to avoid audible interference. All my previous phones have done this as well (last before the 3GS was a Sony Ericsson w800i), but they didn't need to be placed as far away from the speakers before the interference could no longer he heard.
- X-Istence 16y ago
  Get some speakers that are properly shielded and have ferrite beads on the speaker connection. My JBL Pro speakers never have interference from my iPhone.
  - chopsueyar 16y ago
    I agree, you must change your lifestyle if you want to use the iPhone. I have even remodeled my home to include a bedroom dedicated to my iPhone. Totally worth it.
  - jonny_noog 16y ago
    It's probably time I upgrade my speakers, I've had them for some time now. It's a Klipsch 2.1 set from about 3 years ago. I was under the impression that Klipsch was a reasonably good quality brand, but I guess they're missing these ferrite beads you speak of. Something to keep in mind for when I do upgrade, thanks.
- CountSessine 16y ago
  That's interesting. It suggests that your iphone is typically on a 2G GSM network, rather than a 3G UMTS/HSPA network. GSM is known for causing audio interference because the TDMA transmission window cycles at about 200Hz. Does your 3GS say '3G' on the status bar while it's interfering with your speakers?
  - ChRoss 16y ago
    In my office room, hardly get the 3G status, but the phone signal is full. I had no problem with my previous phone (Dopod).
    - CountSessine 16y ago
      Was your Dopod GSM, UMTS, or CDMA? UMTS and CDMA phones won't do generate audio-domain interference. Any 2G GSM phone, from the most expertly-designed Nokia or Ericsson to the worst Huawei will interfere with your speakers.

megablast 16y ago

Why would the iPhone be any different to any other phone, in that regards. They all emit radio waves, the iPhone doesn't emit any stronger than any other phone, by much anyway.

Luc 16y ago
The radio on the phone uses the least power it can while still maintaining a good connection to the tower. A faulty antenna will make the radio increase its transmission power.

jodrellblank 16y ago

"While certain media outlets continue to claim that regular cell phone use is unlikely to cause brain cancer, you should know that Interphone found "heavy users" of cell phones were found to have an approximately doubled risk of glioma, a life threatening and often-fatal brain tumor, after 10 years of cell phone use. What was the definition of a heavy user? About two hours … a month! When this study was conducted (1999-2004), cell phone use had not yet exploded to the extent it has today. Now, the results are clearly outdated, because in the decade that's passed since the study was begun, cell phone use has grown exponentially and it is not at all unusual for people to use a cell phone for two hours or more a day! What this means is that if you use your cell phone for two hours a month or more, you may be doubling your risk of a potentially fatal brain tumor. Use your cell phone significantly more than that, and your risk is likely much, much higher." http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/06/10/how-the-telecom-industry-deceives-you-about-brain-cancer-risk-and-cell-phones.aspx http://emf.mercola.com/sites/emf/archive/2010/06/10/how-the-...

jurjenh 16y ago
It is important to compare the amount of radiation here though... I'm pretty sure new phones are a bit more efficient with their signals, battery life has increased phenomenally and this must be partly due to lower power usage. Although with phones like the iPhone, you've got several types of wireless going at the same time... Anyone got recent, non-biased studies on the same?
ubernostrum 16y ago
None of the studies I've ever seen on this have proposed a mechanism by which radiation from a cellular phone causes cancer, which seems to be a bit of a hurdle given that some novel mechanism would be necessary (as far as I'm aware, the radiation emitted by a cell phone is well below -- orders of magnitude below -- the necessary level of energy to break chemical bonds, which is, well, sort of a prerequisite for radiation to cause cancer).
hoggle 16y ago
As you seem to be well informed about the topic: Do you know if it is usual for cellphone designers to use the optional headset/headphone combination as an extended antenna and if so if it is still better to prefer it to a bluetooth based solution? I think this is something a lot of people would like to know as heavy cellphone use ia often unavoidable these days.

mikecane 16y ago

This is my major concern about the iPhone 4 and why I have planned to skip it: since when is holding a phone by its antenna a good thing? I'd like reassurance there is no health danger, especially after reading this: Warning: Your Cell Phone May Be Hazardous to Your Health http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-cell-phone-radiation?printable=true http://www.gq.com/cars-gear/gear-and-gadgets/201002/warning-...

CamperBob 16y ago
This is my major concern about the iPhone 4 and why I have planned to skip it: since when is holding a phone by its antenna a good thing? Since the EM radiation you receive from your desk lamp is a thousand times more energetic?