Palm Pixi Fares Poorly in SAR Rating Report

palm pixi skull back According to the latest "Get a Safer Phone List" published by the Environmental Working Group, Palm's Pixi on Sprint (no mention is made of the newer Pixi Plus on Verizon or AT&T) ties for the worst rating among smartphones (both current and legacy) alongside several BlackBerry models, Virgin Mobile's Kyocera Jax, and HTC's Magic (aka My Touch 3G) for T-Mobile. The Pixi was rated at a 1.56w/kg SAR level when held to the ear, while the FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is a SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) level of 1.6 watts per kilogram. The ancient, circa 2003 Treo 600, with no specific carrier listed, also earned a mention on the "worst phones" list with a 1.53 w/kg measurement.

With the recent news of the city of San Francisco now having the distinction of being the first metropolitan area in the country to pass a law requiring wireless handset retailers to post the SAR values of individual mobile phone being sold, such ratings might become more significant from a marketing and public relations standpoint, even if consumers do not heed the potential health concerns. The Treo 650 was also criticized for its high SAR levels. Long-time Palm OS followers may remember that the Treo 650's eventual withdrawal from the marketplace came about partially due to its failure to pass the RoHs guidelines in 2006.

Article Comments

 (56 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Start a new Comment Down View Full Comment Thread

nice

Gekko @ 6/16/2010 12:36:53 PM # Q

so it's a shitty smartphone AND it will kill you? nice.

p.s. i grew up on this site but i'm fading fast. Ryan it's time to reinvent PIC asap unless you want it to end up like Garnet.

RE: nice
Gekko @ 6/16/2010 12:38:15 PM # Q

p.p.s.

i find the skull and cross bones ironic. lead paint too?

RE: nice
mikecane @ 6/16/2010 5:58:42 PM # Q
Not lead paint. IMPORTED lead paint. That makes it all exotic.

So, Gekko, no tablet not ever no for you, then? You won't be crawling back here 4Q when HP releases the sexolicious webOS tablet?!

RE: nice
Gekko @ 6/16/2010 6:18:29 PM # Q

nah i don't need no tablet. i have my little Windows 7 Acer $229 Netbook from Walmart that i'm happy with. and my EVO 4G. this is all the technology i need. what the heck would i do with a tablet? i prefer the L shape and the real keyboard and durability of a netbook. i'm a minimalist and the last thing i want to do is manage a third extraneous device with some obscure proprietary clumsy OS all alone from some tiny lonely island.

RE: nice
mikecane @ 6/17/2010 6:34:49 AM # Q
If you were a minimalist, you wouldn't need a damned keyboard. Once again, you are FAIL, Gekko.
Reply to this comment

scientific consensus...

analogue wings @ 6/16/2010 5:19:14 PM # Q
...seems to be edging toward the conclusion that cellphone radiation can't harm you. so this SAR number is a bit like publishing the phone's starsign or something
IIIc -> M105 -> Zire 21 -> Tungsten T2 -> Treo 650 -> HTC TyTN II :(
RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/16/2010 6:00:38 PM # Q
*snort* The scientific consensus of who? The scientists paid *by* the industry to run the tests *for* the industry? We saw how self-oversight worked with BP. That went well. But hey, maybe you'll *like* your leukemia or brain tumor. If the latter, give it a cute name. Maybe Fred?
RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/16/2010 9:04:44 PM # M Q
If you're worried about radiation, stop getting any medical imaging, quit taking flights in aircraft, throw away granite countertops, and go live in a salt mine where radon gas doesn't seep through.

Radiation is a natural part of everyday life. Your body can handle the exposure that daily life gives it. I work in the business. You're more likely to die from eating too much shitty food and not enough exercise. Your cell phone won't kill you, frozen pizzas will.

RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/17/2010 6:33:43 AM # Q
Ah, the ignorance of the young! Can't wait to see what mutations you get from HOLDING ONTO THAT iPHONE 4 ANTENNA! Once I saw that bit, I crossed it off my list. I hope an iPod Touch will have a Retina Display. And an *internal* antenna.

Not clicking on Gekko's link. He still thinks it's OK for banks and brokerages to trade their own accounts *against their clients*.

RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/17/2010 11:14:00 AM # M Q
I work with many old-heads who were former reactor operators. Some of these guys received big doses of radiation when doing regular maintenance like steam generator tube inspection, where you enter the cold leg of the OTSG wearing an ice vest, two banana suits, and a respirator. This is all monitored and only for a short period of time. They know the exact dose they're receiving each minute, and that exposure is monitored by OSHA and the NRC. These old-heads all have five kids each, a few grandkids, and cancer-free.

We have studies radiation exposure extensively. We know its effects. We can predict it under various scenarios, model it, and protect against extended exposure.

You will not die from a cell phone, CT scan, or nuclear power plant. You will die from eating processed food with too much sodium.

Care to construct a counter-argument, or are you just going to sit there, dumbfounded and with your thumb up your ass, still thinking that any kind of radiation is fatally toxic and poisonous to the human body?

How do you think bandaids and syringes are sterilized? Strawberries? They all get zapped with a high radiation dose for a short period of time. This exposure is many thousands of times more powerful than you or I receive while talking on a cell phone. And we consume and use those products without dying. You can look it up and track it using units of Rad, Rem, Sieverts, Roentgen, etc.

RE: scientific consensus...
jnuneznj @ 6/17/2010 11:49:35 AM # Q
"You will not die from a cell phone, CT scan, or nuclear power plant. You will die from eating processed food with too much sodium."

High Fructose Corn Syrup will get you faster than sodium! And Strawberries as a disinfectant does not make sense. All the flies and sh*t.

RE: scientific consensus...
analogue wings @ 6/17/2010 3:20:28 PM # Q
You know you're in trouble when the conspiracy theorists are the majority.

Like someone else said, the radiation emitted by phones is the same type emitted by pretty much every other gadget that your house has been teeming with since the '60s.

You get way more radiation from your microwave than you ever will from your phone.

And if you enumerate all the carinogenic things in your life and rank them by risk, you'll find that eletronics are the least of your worries.
IIIc -> M105 -> Zire 21 -> Tungsten T2 -> Treo 650 -> HTC TyTN II :(

RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/17/2010 5:05:04 PM # Q
EMR is quite different than isotopic radiation. Interesting that you should bring up bananas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_equivalent_dose

But hey, if radiation is all the same thing, go try phoning on an iBanana.

RE: scientific consensus...
jca666us @ 6/18/2010 4:02:37 AM # M Q
IBanana?

Mike, you're still trying to be irreverent, but succeeding at being irrelevant.

Congratulations!

RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/18/2010 6:02:41 AM # M Q
Radiation comes in four forms: alpha, beta, neutron, and gamma. We know the risks and proper shielding techniques that all four types require. Radiation, in it's simplest form, is just a particle that hits your body and does damage to a biological cell. That cell is then naturally repaired at a certain rate by the body. Each person is different, so there is some level of probability and statistics involved, but people generally react the same. When you receive too many cells getting mutated by radiation that the body can't keep up with repairing it, that's when you start to get real damage.
RE: scientific consensus...
Gekko @ 6/18/2010 6:25:11 AM # Q

well as the great Remo Gaggi once said - "Look... why take a chance?"


RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/18/2010 7:57:46 AM # Q
>>>well as the great Remo Gaggi once said - "Look... why take a chance?"

Was that an earthquake? Gekko made ... sense!

And after this, all of you just STFU:

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

RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/18/2010 10:46:02 AM # Q
You're getting radiation right now. Educate yourselves, and stop being the clueless American public that I have to put up with on a weekly basis:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/bio-effects-radiation.html

Do you have any idea how many stupid barroom conversations I've had with people who don't know a damn thing about my industry, yet somehow claim I'm killing myself and everyone around me? Answer: lots.

Your cell phone is not a danger. Ignore this junk science.

-Bosco
m105 -> NX70v -> NX80v -> iPhone -> iPhone 3G

RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/18/2010 11:47:00 AM # Q
>>>about my industry

YOUR industry? You weren't in your pa's testes when "your" industry began.

RE: scientific consensus...
e_tellurian @ 6/18/2010 11:56:20 AM # M Q
:-(lol)

Who owns the thread. Who owns their thoughts? i seem to recall an individual trying to own a thread just for sharing a thought.

E-T

RE: scientific consensus...
rpa @ 6/18/2010 12:05:19 PM # Q
mikecane: do you have anything to add to the discussion other than hurling insults? NEXT!
RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/18/2010 1:34:43 PM # Q
If you knew htf to actually *comprehend* words you see on the screen, you would have seen a link that said it all, rpa, you dimwit.
RE: scientific consensus...
rpa @ 6/18/2010 1:42:34 PM # Q
mikecane: thanks for answering my question.
RE: scientific consensus...
Gekko @ 6/18/2010 7:49:28 PM # Q
RE: scientific consensus...
hkklife @ 6/18/2010 8:52:42 PM # Q
Not to worry. He still has a fallback option:

https://www.pillsbury.com/products/pizza/frozen/Totinos-Pizza.htm

Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro

RE: scientific consensus...
LiveFaith @ 6/18/2010 9:37:13 PM # Q
Thanks Abosco. Well written.

Who puts a phone to their ear anymore anyway? BT anyone?
Pat Horne

RE: scientific consensus...
LiveFaith @ 6/18/2010 9:42:36 PM # Q
Thanks Abosco. Well written.

Who puts a phone to their ear anymore anyway? BT anyone?
Pat Horne

RE: scientific consensus...
hkklife @ 6/18/2010 9:42:49 PM # Q
Since WebOS & Android both STILL lack voice dialing over BT, you pretty much have to take yer life into your hands (radiation-wise) and hold 'em up to your head. It's absolutely inexplicable that Palm & Google cannot conjure up BT voice dialing for their respective platforms. This is mid-2010, not 2001. Heck, Palm still hasn't figured how to add programmable voicemail #'s into WebOS so I shouldn't be at all surprised.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid + Verizon Palm Centro
RE: scientific consensus...
Gekko @ 6/19/2010 2:47:18 AM # Q

the Reverend is Closin' Deals!

http://bluetoothdouchebag.com/


RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/19/2010 8:15:53 AM # Q
Man, I hated SpaghettiOs even as a kid, when they first came out! And I saw that item before you posted it. And if you think only "losers" eat crap in a can, dig this:

>>>But then [Matt Lauer] hit a major slump. Four shows he hosted were canceled, one right after the other, and though he found some cable television work, he couldn't land a new job at the same level. In an emotional and financial crisis, he gave up his New York City lifestyle and moved into a very small cabin upstate to reevaluate his career. He needed money but didn't want to wait tables, because he knew he had less of a shot at a resurrection if anyone recognized him and perceived him as down and out. So Matt applied for a job as a tree trimmer, because he knew his face would be obscured by a hard hat. The next day, the phone rang. Matt answered it, expecting it to be the tree trimming company responding to his query, but it was Bill Bolster, the general manager of WNBC-TV.

>>>"He gets on the phone and he says, ‘This guy just brought me a tape of yours a couple of days ago, and I'd seen you around, but this tape got my attention. I know you used to host this show…what are you doing for dinner tomorrow night?

>>>"'Let me look in my book,'" Matt recalled saying, laughing in retrospect. "I'm doing nothing. I'm eating Beefaroni in a can."

That's from: Got What It Takes? Successful People Reveal How They Made It to the Top by Bill Boggs

RE: scientific consensus...
richf @ 6/19/2010 8:21:19 AM # Q
abosco, I hope and pray you are correct. I do not need any more radiation in my life. I worked on the flight line in the vicinity of nuclear missiles while in the air force. We all wore dosimeters but were never told what the results were. At the time we were young and immortal and I never heard anyone say anything. I would be seriously upset if something that gives me hours of entertainment were killing me( my phone). I also hope you are a nuclear engineer and speak with authority. I lived a few miles(55) from TMI and there was a lot of junk talk being passed around at the time. Bottom line is your words give me some relief. Thanks very much.
Have a nice day!
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->Pilot Pro->IIIe->IIIc->M500->M505->M515->TC->T3->T5->Treo 650P->Treo 700P->Droid>Pre
RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/20/2010 9:29:51 AM # Q
richf wrote:
abosco, I hope and pray you are correct. I do not need any more radiation in my life. I worked on the flight line in the vicinity of nuclear missiles while in the air force. We all wore dosimeters but were never told what the results were. At the time we were young and immortal and I never heard anyone say anything. I would be seriously upset if something that gives me hours of entertainment were killing me( my phone). I also hope you are a nuclear engineer and speak with authority. I lived a few miles(55) from TMI and there was a lot of junk talk being passed around at the time. Bottom line is your words give me some relief. Thanks very much.

I am a mechanical engineer in the nuclear industry. I actually did some work for TMI last year (I work for a consulting company). I don't see any reason why you would be in danger from your military experience. Nuclear missiles contain almost pure Pu-239 or U-235. They naturally emit alpha radiation. Alpha particles (essentially just a helium nucleus, 2 protons 2 neutrons) are large and blocked by your skin without any damage at all. The only way alpha poses a risk is if it's ingested, where it has direct line-of-sight to internal organs, not impeded by the skin, and does a lot of damage. But when scientists handle samples of weapons-grade Uranium or Plutonium, your really just need to hold it with a piece of paper between your hand and the metal. It is warm to the touch. The only reason why they even wear gloves is to prevent the oil from human skin from contaminating the purity. The same goes for reactor fuel - it's safe to the touch, but you shouldn't anyway because of the oil in your skin.

As for TMI, the releases from the plant were negligible. The containment building did its job, and while a $2B reactor got wrecked, we as residents were not in any danger. The only permanent effect was that Jane Fonda got a generation of people to have an irrational fear of nuclear energy and convinced people that this country can run exclusively on wind and solar. All the while, coal and gas are being burned to provide true, useful baseload energy while emitting carbon and soot in the air. Nuclear energy can do that with none of the polluting emissions, but Americans are so afraid of this wonderful technology that we pioneered while all other countries are charging ahead with new nuclear plants. Our new builds are stuck in regulatory and legal gridlock.

-Bosco
m105 -> NX70v -> NX80v -> iPhone -> iPhone 3G

RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/20/2010 10:04:38 AM # Q
>>>Nuclear energy can do that with none of the polluting emissions

But with far more deadly waste that needs to be buried somewhere for a long, long, long time -- and that in itself is one hell of a radioactive political issue.

You may be in engineering but you write about it like a frikkin lobbyist.

RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/20/2010 12:30:03 PM # Q
There is another technology that we created and pioneered that solves that problem. We used to reprocess used nuclear fuel in this country. During reactor operation, new fissile U-235 and Pu-239 is bred. From used fuel, you can extract the highly radioactive nuclides (1% of total waste) and recycle the rest into new fuel, since reactor grade fuel is only ~5% U-235 and 95% U-238. The resulting waste is of a smaller volume and far less radioactive - trimming the half life from a few thousand years to a few hundred. This waste is then vitrified (turned into a stable glass) to resist leeching if it contacts water, then placed into the sturdiest, most indestructible containers ever made. You can watch a few vides on YouTube of the government performing tests to try to destroy these containers by simulating transportation accidents. Covering it in jet fuel and setting it ablaze for a few hours, putting it on a train and hitting it head-on into concrete, dropping a cask from a crane, etc. This waste can be buried under Yucca Mountain without risk of leaching into the water supply. The problem is regulatory and politically natured, not technical. From an engineering standpoint, the waste issue has been solved.

Why don't we reprocess fuel in this country? Because Jimmy Carter was afraid that companies would extract the Plutonium from the fuel and sell it to terrorists to build bombs back in the 70's. We have tried to get reprocessing back in this country, but to no avail. As a result, other countries have been going full speed ahead with building reprocessing facilities and geological repositories. France, Japan, Russia, China, and virtually all other nuclear-powered nations reprocess fuel for civilian use. If anything, the USA should be able to do it with an been higher security standard than any of these other nations because of our defense budget.

By the way, Yucca Mountain is built and fully functional. It's strictly a regulatory issue. It is the most-studied piece of land in the history of the world.

-Bosco
m105 -> NX70v -> NX80v -> iPhone -> iPhone 3G

RE: scientific consensus...
abosco @ 6/20/2010 12:33:26 PM # Q
with an even higher security standard*

-Bosco
m105 -> NX70v -> NX80v -> iPhone -> iPhone 3G
RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/20/2010 3:40:12 PM # Q
I'd expect anything we build to store spent fuel would be more secure than the Russians. I would hope.

Then again, where'd all that anthrax come from, eh?

Anyway, you go ahead and get an iPhone 4. I'll be content to watch. From afar. Hmmm... what's that strange object on your ear that you hold your iPhone to? LMAO!

RE: scientific consensus...
mikecane @ 6/23/2010 4:58:29 PM # Q
And so it begins!

iPhone 4 Loses Reception When You Hold It By The Antenna Band?
http://gizmodo.com/5571171/iphone-4-loses-reception-when-you-hold-it-by-the-antenna-band

RE: scientific consensus...
gmayhak @ 6/23/2010 6:46:09 PM # Q
I think some engineers will be packing their bags and getting pink slips in the morning. Maybe this kind of screw up is what Ruby was talking about ;-)
"PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in."

Gary
Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com

RE: scientific consensus...
gmayhak @ 6/23/2010 8:50:10 PM # Q
Or... maybe it's all Gizmodo payback for being banned...

http://thetvrealist.com/gossip/Gizmodo-banned-from-Apple-event-2685469.html

???

Gary
Tech Center Labs
www.talestuff.com
www.iTalentProductions.com

Reply to this comment
Start a New Comment Thread Top View Full Comment Thread
Achtung! Only the first 50 comments are displayed within the article.
    Click here for the full story discussion page...

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass:

Latest Comments

  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST((SELECT/**/CASE/**/IS_SRVROLEMEM
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000
  • My comments --1' OR UNICODE(SUBSTRING((SELECT/**/ISNULL(CAST(db_name()/**/AS/**/NVARCHAR(4000