Disadvantages of cell phones? maybe.... lol

Disadvantages of cell phones? maybe.... lol

Radiation affects your health.
Vibrations affect your ear drums.
Ringing affects your heart if you put the phone in your upper pocket.
Shows bad manners when you are talking to someone and the phone rings - you start yelling " Hello, Hello"
Modern phones with cameras etc. go beyond normal use. They have become danger to society and the privacy of your contacts.
Plus many more...
But it has host of advantages. No wonder it is becoming popular beyond anybody's guess.

correct spelling forgotten (when using text messaging or sms)
radiation (no. 1 disadvantage!)
no alibis. anyone who got your number knows you can be reached through your cellphone.
endangers your life..(hmm from holduppers and snatchers.)

Well here's some...
1.Making house/offices phones look usless.
2.Disruption of your daily life.
3.Radiation to your body in some cases.
4.Adds stress every time a ring tone alerts you out of nowhere.
5.Burden you finacially with new models and not to mention monthly bills.

But i think overall the advantages covers all the disavantages it may have.Our lifes seems more convinient and mobile with it's pressence.


The new discoveries said that you can have cancer from them, you can become deaf,but the also diminish your intimacy. If you do not want to answer a call,and let it ring every time the person calls, the next time you will meet them,they will ask you why you did not answer,because they know you could have(your cell was open). Cell phones tend to be disturbing during a movie in the cinema, or a play, in a library,etc.


you dont pay attention to the lesson. and people cheat like that and its distracting, etc.

Now we go to great Cell Phone Models

HTC's Re-Touching Experience
HTC's major handset announcement at CTIA was the HTC Touch Dual, basically an HTC Touch enhanced by addition of a slide-out 20-key keypad. The Touch Dual uses predictive text entry similar to the scheme that powers text entry on RIM's BlackBerry Pearl. Due to appear by summer, the Touch Dual is a quad-band HSDPA phone; it will likely be one of the first to support Windows Mobile 6.1, the point update to Microsoft's mobile operating system that was announced at CTIA.

HTC, by the way, also announced a Verizon Wireless counterpart to the original HTC Touch (an EVDO handset with HTC's proprietary TouchFlo technology), which up to now has been only available on Sprint. On Verizon Wireless, it will be called the Verizon XV6900.



Motorola Moto Q Goes Colorful
It's nice to see that even business phones are becoming more colorful. Here's a lime green version of Motorola's Q9c -- to arrive on Alltel and U.S. Cellular this summer. Alltel says it will charge $200 (with the possibility of $100 off via mail-in rebate) for this Windows Mobile 6 smart phone with a nice QWERTY keyboard and EVDO broadband support. Speaking of Qs, Verizon Wireless also announced that it's adding the Q 9c to its lineup -- but only in basic black.


Colorful and Shiny, Too: Sony Ericsson's Z750a
Announced last year, Sony Ericsson's Z750a is finally coming to AT&T Wireless with a splash: Models of this mirrored-surface HSDPA clamshell will be available within the next week or two in Rose Pink and Mysterious Purple (Sony Ericsson's words, not mine). Oh yeah, a boring Phantom Grey one will be available too. All three feature subsurface OLED (organic light-emitting diode) displays that will show time of day, caller ID and music track information (as appropriate) in glow-through type. They won't break the bank, either: Sony Ericsson says AT&T will charge $150, with a $100 mail-in rebate available (with the usual two-year contract).

Mobile Phone Virus Still at large

First mobile phone virus nears 2nd birthday

Munir Kotadia, ZDNet Australia

Tags: trojanspy, f-secure, redbrowser, vervata, auscert, mikko, cabir, commwarrior
The first real mobile phone virus, which was found in the wild and could replicate on its own, was discovered almost two years ago.

On June 15 2004, Finnish anti-virus firm F-Secure and Russian rival Kaspersky released details about a piece of mobile phone malware that used Bluetooth to try and spread to other Symbian series60-based mobile phones.

Almost two years on, F-Secure's chief research officer Mikko Hyppönen reports that although there are now over 200 mobile phone viruses -- many of which are variants of Cabir -- the problem is unlikely to get as bad as it has with PCs.

"The difference is that PC viruses were first found in 1986 and mobile phone viruses were found in 2004," said Hyppönen in an interview with ZDNet Australia at the AusCERT conference in the Gold Coast last week. "So we are living in the equivalent of 1988 but in 1988 Microsoft or hardware manufacturers were not doing anything about viruses".

"In the mobile phone world, all the mobile phone manufacturers are working on the problem as are the phone operating system manufacturers, like Symbian, Microsoft and Palm. Operators are on top of this -- there are several phones from Nokia that come with antivirus software, which is made by F-Secure," he said.

At AusCERT, Hyppönen presented a talk about current and future mobile phone threats. He explained that malware aimed at mobile phones is close to evolving into something that could make cybercriminals lots of money.

"On any new platform the first malware is made by hobbyists as a proof of concept -- the professionals move in later on. This change hasn't really happened yet on the mobile phone side," said Hyppönen.

One example of a Trojan designed to illegally make money from Mobile phone users is called Redbrowser, which will run on any Java-enabled phone and is 'advertised' as a special Web browser that, if installed, will provide the user with WAP browsing.

In reality, Redbrowser is programmed to send vast quantities of text messages to a Russian premium rate number, which could cost the victim hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

"Redbrowser starts to send text messages from your phone to that number -- as many as it can, as fast as it can and each message costs you around US$5," said Hyppönen.

Another piece of mobile malware that could hit its victims in the pocket is Commwarrior, which first appeared in March 2005 and used both Bluetooth and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) to replicate.

MMS is commonly used for sending picture messages but it can also allow mobile phone users to exchange ring tones, files and other applications.

"Say you have 200 numbers in your phone and you get hit with Commwarrior. It will send an MMS message in your name to every single number in your phone. So people get a message from you, they trust you and open up the message and get infected," explained Hyppönen.

If Hyppönen got infected by Commwarrior, it would cost him a significant amount, he said: "You pay for every message so if it cost 50 cents, [200 contacts means] it has cost you $100. I have 1600 contacts so if I get infected it will cost me $800 -- that is already a lot of money".

Although Commwarrior infections are not a serious problem at the moment, some mobile phone operators are already feeling the pain, said Hyppönen.

"One operator found that 2.5 percent and another found 3.5 percent of all their MMS traffic was not generated by people but by viruses. Another operator we spoke with said that their user support gets around 200 calls a day about mobile phone viruses," Hyppönen said.

Spyware moves in
Over the past year, spyware has become one of the biggest problems on PCs so it is not be a surprise that issue has migrated to mobile phones.

At the end of March, F-Secure discovered a "spying application" called Flexispy that is designed to record text messages, log calls and even send back recordings of calls to a third party.

Although the application, made by Bangkok-based Vervata, is technically legal and has legitimate uses, F-Secure objected to the fact that once installed there is no indication to the user that so much information is being leaked to a third party.

"You can use it to monitor your 10 year old and it is legal -- depending on where you are -- and justifiable. But then again if you install it on somebody's phone without them knowing about it, it is illegal," said Hyppönen.

F-Secure classified Flexispy as a Trojan and included detection for it in its mobile phone anti-virus software, said Hyppönen: "We made the call based on the fact that it never shows you any messages or explains what it is".

Vervata responded by publishing a strong objection on its Web site: "Like any other monitoring software there may be a possibility for misuse, but there is nothing inherent in FlexiSPY that makes it illegal or malicious, and Vervata would like to point out that F-Secure comments categorizing FlexiSPY as a Trojan are completely incorrect".

Unfortunately for Vervata, other security software vendors -- including Symantec and Kaspersky -- have sided with F-Secure.

Last year, analyst group Gartner predicted that a serious mobile phone virus is unlikely until the end of 2007 because it will take that long until there are enough mobile phones capable of carrying the infection.

Hyppönen also believes that the virus problem will get worse -- before it gets better. However, he is confident it will never be as bad it is currently with PCs.

"There have already been tens of thousands of mobile phones infected and mobile viruses have spread to 30 different countries. A virus has tried infecting my phone 4 times -- once in London and three times in Finland.

"If we play our cards right we will not have 165,000 mobile phone viruses in 2020," Hyppönen added.

Anti Moblie Phone Vigilante is Real

Phone vigilante slashes car tyres

The notice left on cars claims victims were seen using a mobile

More than 20 motorists in Hampshire have fallen victim to a mystery vigilante who appears to target drivers spotted using mobile phones.

All the car owners have found their tyres have been slashed and, in many cases, a note on their windscreens.

The sinister message, made from newspaper cuttings, says the driver was seen using a phone.

Hampshire Police are investigating the incidents in Gosport, Lee-on-the-Solent and Stubbington.

One victim was Rebecca Rendle, who was left with a £170 bill, when all four of her tyres were punctured outside her Gosport home.

Rebecca Rendle: "There's a loony"

"I was shocked and furious, I don't even own a mobile," she said.

"I think it must be (someone following me home) as that's the only way they would find out where you live.

"There's a loony who thinks they are doing the world a favour."

Police said they are investigating this incident and 20 similar cases that occurred in the area over the past several months.

Insp Kevin Cuffe, of Hampshire Police, said: "In most of the cases a note has been left at the scene and forensic specialists are in the process of examining these notes to gather potential evidence.

"These incidents are being taken very seriously as we appreciate that criminal damage has a very real and detrimental effect on the victims.

"Whoever is doing this may feel that he or she has some sort of justification but there is never any excuse to vandalise the property of others."

The $85k mobile phone bill alert

Shock at $85k mobile phone bill

Many new mobile phones can connect to the internet

A Canadian man has been shocked to receive a mobile phone bill for nearly $85,000 (£41,000).

Piotr Staniaszek thought he could use his new phone as a modem for his computer under his $10 unlimited mobile browser plan from Bell Mobility.

He downloaded high-definition movies and other large files unaware that this incurred massive extra charges.

Bell Mobility has since lowered the bill to $3,243, but Mr Staniaszek says he intends to fight the charges anyway.

'Nobody told me'

The 22-year-old oil-field worker from Calgary said he thought a first bill for $65,000 in November was a mistake.

When he spoke to Bell Mobility he was informed the bill had climbed to nearly $85,000 after more downloading.

I'm going to try and fight it, because I didn't know about the extra charges Piotr Staniaszek

He said he normally paid about $150 a month for his phone and used to be notified of high charges.

"The thing is, they've cut my phone off for being like $100 over," he told CBC News.

"Here, I'm $85,000 over and nobody bothered to give me a call and tell me what was going on."

Bell Mobility said they would lower the bill to $3,243 in a "goodwill gesture" to match the best data plan available for using mobile phones as a modem, the Globe and Mail reported.

The trouble stems from the new phone he received when he renewed his mobile phone contract.

The new model allows him to connect with his computer and download data.

"I told them I wasn't aware I would be charged for hooking up my phone to the computer. I'm going to try and fight it, because I didn't know about the extra charges."

Canadians complain that their mobile phone charges are much higher for comparable service in the United States.

Apple's iPhone is Mobile Markets worst nightmare

Apple's iPhone Messing with Mobile Market

News this morning of the Apple mobile phone is going to mess with the mobile market. Among other things, it is worth watching how mobile competitors' stocks perform on the news:

The gist of the Apple phone: It's a large-screen touch phone (no physical keypad) with 8.0 GB of storage, no stylus, and running Mac OS X. It's also quad-band GSM + EDGE phone, not 3G, but it does have WiFi.

The obvious immediate question will be battery life, of course, not to mention how many people will find a key-less phone something of a non-starter. How do you use such things by touch? Inquiring minds want to know. Looks like a June ship date and a $599 price, so this is definitely high-end stuff.

Vodafone Owns iPhone bigtime

BERLIN, Germany (AP) -- Deutsche Telekom AG's mobile unit said Wednesday it would offer Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone without a contract to comply with a court injunction issued after Vodafone challenged T-Mobile's exclusive lock on the handset.

The iPhone will go on sale contract-free in Germany for 999 euros.

T-Mobile will start selling the phone for 999 euros ($1,477) immediately as well as continuing to offer it for the discounted 399 euros ($590) in combination with a two-year contract, the company said in a press release.

The iPhone made its German debut on Nov. 9 -- available only with the two-year contract from T-Mobile.

The German unit of rival Vodafone protested that practice at a state court in Hamburg.

Samsung and Google shakes hands for Mobile Phone Deal

Cooperation ensures quick and easy access to Google^TM search, Google Maps^TM for mobile, and a fast, new Gmail^TM application for Samsung enthusiasts worldwide

Seoul, Korea and Las Vegas (Consumer Electronics Show) - January 8, 2007 - Samsung, a leading provider and innovator of mobile phones, and Google Inc. today announced a global cooperation to enable mobile phone users worldwide with quick and easy access to Google^TM products and services - directly from their Samsung mobile phones.

Samsung mobile phones equipped with Google^TM applications will enable consumers to search information, find locations, and manage their email on the move. Samsung's mobile phones offer today's latest technologies with unique applications and mobile designs. Now, the combination of Google^TM applications and Samsung's advanced mobile devices represents two companies' dedication to offering a hassle-free mobile Internet experience for consumers world-wide.

Beginning in early 2007, selected Samsung phones will be provided with a range of Google^TM products and services aimed to create a more dynamic user experience, including:

• Google^TM search: Samsung handsets will include a Google^TM icon in the application menu, providing users with one-click access to Google^TM search
• Google Maps^TM for mobile: Also featured on Samsung handsets will be Google Maps^TM for mobile, an application that enables users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, and get driving directions when they're on the go
• Gmail^TM: Gmail^TM for mobile devices, a new application that brings more speed, convenience, and functionality to the mobile Gmail^TM experience, will also be available on Samsung handsets

Samsung has already launched, the Ultra Edition 13.8 (SGH-Z720), its first mobile handset installed with Google^TM mobile search and Gmail^TM services. The slim 3G Z720 is only 13.8mm in thinness, is HSDPA ready, and comes with a 3-megapixel camera, MP3 Player, and Bluetooth connectivity. The HSDPA connectivity combined with embedded an Internet browser and Google^TM mobile services will provide users with a rich mobile Internet experience. Future models will also be Google-ready as consumers continue to demand trouble-free mobile Internet access. Consumers will enjoy and appreciate Samsung's simple-to-use user interface and Google's familiarity for an effortless mobile Internet experience

"We are very thrilled to introduce Samsung mobiles with one-click access to Google services. Our cooperation with Google exemplifies our commitment to leading the evolution from the fixed-Internet era to a mobile Internet era and ushering in a ubiquitous world where mobile enables our consumers to access information about anything, anywhere, anytime," said Kitae Lee, President of Samsung's Telecommunication Network Business. "Samsung and Google will enhance users' mobile experience with a powerful, yet easy-to-use handset with simple access to information and personal management."

"Google is dedicated to providing users around the world with easier access information and services when they are mobile. Working with an industry leader like Samsung is a great way to accomplish that," said Deep Nishar, director of wireless products and strategy for Google Inc. "Improving the mobile user experience is of paramount importance to both Samsung and Google, and by working together we'll be able to bring the power, functionality, and convenience of Google^TM search, Google Maps^TM for mobile, and Gmail^TM for mobile devices to millions of Samsung users across the globe."

About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2005 parent company sales of US$56.7 billion and net income of US$7.5 billion. Employing approximately 128,000 people in over 120 offices in 57 countries, the company consists of five main business units: Digital Appliance Business, Digital Media Business, LCD Business, Semiconductor Business and Telecommunication Network Business. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones, and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Google, Google Maps, and Gmail are trademarks of Google Inc.

Seriously How I got mobile phone reception where there was no signal

Seriously How I got mobile phone reception where there was no signal

Posted at 20:30 by Graeme

(Or, to be more accurate, where 20ft of solid stone was blocking line-of-sight to the nearest transmitter.)

I just got a Nokia E61 on T-Mobile. When I signed up, I knew that the signal was really weak in the back of our house - the building forms a large square, and my bedroom faces into the centre of the square. I could get a signal in the living room (just), but wouldn’t it be great, I thought, not to have to go through there every time the phone rings. Although outside my house full-strength UMTS signals are readily available, the building’s construction prevents them diffracting into the internal ‘courtyard’.

All I needed was enough reception to receive and send SMS messages. I have home WiFi for data access, and I can potentially make calls over that too. I planned to aim for UMTS reception rather than GSM since: a) I didn’t know which GSM frequency to aim for and b) E series Nokia phones maintain their batteries better if they have UMTS signals (otherwise they constantly search for a UMTS signal).

I tried two car-type external antennas that I got via eBay - but unfortunately the gain on both of these was just too low (barely even compensating for the losses in the cable running to the phone). Also, neither were sufficiently directional to catch enough of the reflected signal to give me anything to work with.

The first step was the figure out what the extent of the problem was. I located my nearest T-Mobile base station using the government’s Sitefinder service. This also confirmed the frequency that the transmitter used - 2100Mhz. This is the standard frequency for UMTS (i.e. 3G) services in Europe.

By drawing a line between the transmitter’s location and my building in Google Earth, I was able to confirm the approximate distance and angle of the signal I needed to catch.

Buying a directional antenna wasn’t really an option - for a start, they are expensive - and anyway I couldn’t be sure that such an antenna would actually help. If it didn’t, I’d have wasted £60-£100.

However, in an incredibly geeky flash of inspiration, I realised that there really isn’t much difference in operating frequency between WiFi (around 2.4Ghz) and UMTS (2.1Ghz). And there are loads of different clandestine WiFi antenna ideas floating around the Internet. If I could find an easy-to-build directional WiFi antenna, perhaps I could reverse-engineer its dimensions and adapt it for 2100Mhz use.

So I set about the task. I decided on the biquad antenna type, as it’s fairly compact and easy to build, yet provides decent (10-14dB) gain and is quite directional. My primary sources of information were the many WiFi biquad and double bi-quad antenna tutorials and blog entries, such as: Engadget’s; Trevor Marshall’s tutorials. More can be found on my del.icio.us page for the tag ‘antenna’.

Both WiFi and UMTS operate in microwave frequencies - however, there’s a substantial difference between the middle WiFi channel (around 2.4Ghz - what people usually tune their WiFi antennas to in order to give a good amplification factor across the channel range) and UMTS’ 2.1Ghz. To my knowledge no-one has built a homebrew biquad UMTS antenna before, so there wasn’t much to go on. What also didn’t help was that most WiFi biquad tutorials just give you the measurements verbatim - not the calculations of formulae.

Having done no physics since school, my expertise in antenna building is poor to say the least. Still I did realise a few things about most of the designs floating around the Web: all of the dimensions were multiples of the wavelength at 2.44Ghz (122mm or 0.122m). So then, I just needed to figure out the multiplication factors in each case and I was sorted.

My list is as follows: (λ = wavelength)

• Emitter wire total length: 2λ
• Emitter ’square’ side length: 0.25λ
• Emitter offset from reflector: 0.125λ
• Reflector width/height: 1λ
• Reflector ‘lips’ height: 0.25λ

So, at 2.1Ghz (2,100,000,000Hz - λ = 142.8mm),these dimensions are:

• Emitter wire total length: 285.6mm
• Emitter ’square’ side length: 35.7mm
• Emitter offset from reflector: 17.85mm
• Reflector width/height: 142.8mm
• Reflector ‘lips’ height: 35.7mm

I made the reflector out of galvanised steel mesh and mounted an N-type connector to the centre. I made an N-type coaxial to FME coaxial cable to hook up the phone to the antenna. The emitter itself is made from the copper centre conductor taken from a length of high-quality satellite TV coaxial cable that I had left over. I used some scrap wires to connect the ends of the biquad ‘bow-tie’ back to the reflector, and placed some of the original dielectric insulation from the satellite cable back on the ends of the bow-tie’ shape to prevent the antenna from ’shorting’ (in an RF sense). The emitter is then soldered into the N-type connector in a most slapdash style.

I didn’t have enough mesh to make the ‘lips’ of the antenna’s reflector match the measurements I’d planned, but made them the longest equal lengths that I could. In other respects, I managed to get the dimensions down to within a couple of millimeters of my target measurements.

High-quality cable is a must - I only used 50cm or so of RG-58 type cable to go between the phone and antenna, and unless you’re using something very high-grade (like LMR-400), I wouldn’t go too much further than that.

Presently the antenna is fixed and aimed in a pretty shoddy way - it’s fixed onto a set of ‘3rd hands’ - and there’s a Post-It note there to provide (some) insulation between the stand and the reflector… I plan to investigate more permanent mounting options at some other date.

The biggest problem with the antenna is aiming it - but having said that once it does catch a signal, the phone holds on to it very well. I’m aiming it over the rootfops of the building, hoping to catch some of the signal’s diffraction.

I have no idea how much gain the antenna produces. When aimed correctly (which is very tricky), it gives me a consistent 1-bar UMTS connection, or a 2 bar GSM signal. It works better at night, holding on to a signal for many hours.

UPDATE (3rd August 2006): Here are some better pics. I’ve replaced the post-it note with some pieces of polycarbonate. The pics also show the cradle into which the phone sits, and the cable which links the antenna to the phone.

Also, admire my lovely lavender wall paint :S