Are Cell Phones cause cancer?

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In 1993, a man filed a lawsuit against the cell phone industry, claiming that his wife died from a brain tumor caused by her repeated use of the cell phone. The tumor was on the same side of the head where she held her cell phone and was shaped like the cell phone antenna. The case got widespread media attention and was featured in CNN's Larry King show.

Although the claim was dismissed by the court due to lack of sufficient evidence, it was a public relations nightmare for the wireless industry. It also marked the beginning of the global search for a definitive answer to the question: are cell phones safe or not? Does it cause cancer and other degenerative diseases? Brain cancer is up 25% since cell phones became popular. Every year, there are 183,000 more cases in the US alone. Some health experts say there's a link with cell phone use, but is there proof?

In an effort to diffuse the negative publicity from the high-profile lawsuit, the cell phone industry itself funded a $25 million dollar research program to prove that cell phones are safe. After 6 years of intensive research, however, the results were not what they were looking for. Dr. George Carlo, the chief research scientist of the program, found evidence that cell phones pose some health risks, possibly even cancer.

The first evidence of cancer link that shook the cell phone industry came in 1997. Dr. Michael Repacholi and his colleagues from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia reported that long-term exposure to the type of radiation that comes from digital cell phones caused an increase in the occurrence of lymphoma in mice. The study received widespread international media attention because it was the first time that cancer has been linked to the cell phone in a well-conducted study.

THR RED FLAGS: SOLVING THE CANCER PUZZLE

In order to show a link between cell phone radiation and cancer, let's look at several studies Dr. Carlo investigated that made him blow the whistle, so to speak. These red-flag findings provide the pieces that fit together to form the cancer picture:

- DNA Damage in Human Blood Studies

- Breakdown in the Blood-Brain Barrier

- Studies of Tumors in People Who Use Cell Phones

- Studies of Cell Phone Radiation Dosage and Response

DNA DAMAGE IN HUMAN BLOOD

All tumors and all cancers are the result of genetic damage. Most often that damage includes the formation of micronuclei--fragments of chromosomes that form membranes around themselves and appear under a microscope as additional nuclei in blood cells (which normally have just a single nucleus). The relationship between micronuclei and cancer is so strong that doctors around the world test for their presence to identify patients likely to develop cancer. The presence of micronuclei indicates that the cells can no longer properly repair broken DNA. This deficiency is considered to be an indication of an increased risk of developing cancer.

- In December 1998, Drs. Ray Tice and Graham Hook of Integrated Laboratory Systems in North Carolina have shown that blood cells exposed to cell phone radiation suffer genetic damage in the form of micronuclei. In their studies, DNA and chromosome damage in human white blood cells occurred when exposed to signals from all types of phones--analog, digital, and PCS. Damage was shown even from signals occurring at a SAR level below the government's "safety" guideline.

- Using different methods, the above finding was confirmed by Dr. Joseph Roti Roti of Washington University in St. Louis in 2000. His research showed that human blood cells exposed to radiation at wireless phone frequencies did indeed develop genetic damage, in the form of micronuclei. This finding received a lot of notice because Dr. Roti Roti is a prominent scientist who does hiw work under funding by Motorola Inc.

This has a very serious implication. If cell phone radiation encourages the formation of micronuclei in blood cells, and micronuclei are said to be "biological markers" for cancer, then based on these studies alone cell phone use could be said to increase the risk of cancer.

BREAKDOWN IN THE BLOOD BRAIN BARRIER

The blood brain barrier is a special filter in the blood vessels of the brain that keeps dangerous chemicals from reaching sensitive brain tissue and causing DNA breaks and other damage.

- In 1994 and again, in 2002, Dr. Leif Salford from Lund University in Stockholm, Sweden found in his studies that rats exposed to cell phone radiation showed a breakdown in the blood brain barrier, as well as areas of shrunken, damaged neurons.

The micronuclei studies of Tice, Hook and Roti Roti and the blood-brain findings of Salford provide a two-step explanation for how cancer could be caused by cell phone radiation.

Step One: A leakage or breakdown in the blood brain barrier would provide a pathway for cancer-causing chemicals in the bloodstream (from tobacco, pesticides, air pollution, etc.) to leak into the brain and damage sensitive brain tissue that would otherwise be protected. These chemicals could break the DNA in the brain or cause other harm to reach those cells.

Step Two: While a number of studies showed that cell phone radiation by itself does not appear to break DNA, the micronuclei findings suggest that they do impair the DNA repair mechanisms in brain cells. Micronuclei result from a breakdown of the cell's ability to repair itself. If the brain cells become unable to repair themselves, then carcinogenesis--the creation of tumors--induced by chemical toxins could begin.

DNA carries the genetic material of an organism and its different cells. Any damage that goes unrepaired affects the future generation of cells. The change has procreated and this mutation is seen as a possible cause of cancer.

TUMORS IN PEOPLE WHO USE CELL PHONES

Epidemiological studies, performed by different investigators using different methods, show some evidence of an increased risk of tumors among people who use cellular phones.

- In 1998, Dr. Ken Rothman of Eidemiology Resources, Inc. in Newton, Mass., did a study showing that users of handheld cell phones have more than twice the risk of dying from brain cancer than do car phone users--whose antennas are mounted on the body of the car, far removed from the users' heads.

- In 1998, Joshua Muscat, a research scientist from the American Health Foundation, showed in his study a doubling of the risk of developing neuro-epithelial tumors on the outside of the brain among cell phone users, particularly on the side of the skull where cell phone antennas are held during calls.

- Muscat also showed in another study that people who have used cell phones for six years or more have a 50-percent increase in risk of developing acoustic neuroma, a benign tumor of the nerve that controls hearing and extends from the ear to the brain. Acoustic neuromas can cause hearing loss and can be life-threatening if untreated.

This was confirmed in a separate study in Stockholm, Sweden by Anders Ahlbom in 2004 and sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO), which finds that people who have used cell phones, this time for at least 10 years, may have an increased risk of developing acoustic neuroma.

- In a study also requested by WHO, researchers headed by Dr. Lennart Hardell of the Orebro Medical Center in Sweden examined 1,617 patients aged between 20 and 80 who had been diagnosed with a brain tumour between 1997 and 2000. They were then compared to healthy people. Those who used cell phones for less than 10 years faced a 20% higher risk of developing brain cancer. But for those who used them for more than a decade the risk was 80% higher. The study also found that tumours were 2.5 times more likely to be on the same side of the head as the phone was held. The cancer of the auditory nerve, accoustic neuroma, showed a larger increase--3.5 times greater risk.

CELL PHONE RADIATION DOSAGE AND RESPONSE

All studies mentioned showed that an increase in cell phone radiation exposure also increases the likelihood of the adverse effect occurring.

In Repacholi's study of mice, the risk of lymphoma increased significantly the longer the mice were exposed to the radio waves.

In the research work done by Tice, Hook, and Roti Roti, the risks of genetic damage as measured by micronuclei formation increased as the amount of radiation increased.

In the three epidemoiological studies--two by Muscat and one by Hardell--the risk of tumors was greater in the areas of the brain near where the cell phone was held.

In Salford's study, the higher the radiation exposure level the rats were exposed to, the more damage was apparent in the blood vessels in the brain and the neurons.

THE BIG CANCER PICTURE

The test tube studies by Tice and Hook; the mouse study by Repacholoi and Selford; and the epidemiological studies by Rothman, Muscat, and Hardell all agree in that they suggest an increased risk of cancer among cell phone users. They fit together to form the beginnings of a picture that everyone can see. They perhaps don't form the complete picture yet, but there are enough already in place to see that there is cause fo genuine public health concern about cell phone safety.

According to Dr. Carlo, "The big picture is disturbingly clear. There is a definite risk that the radiation plume that emanates from a cell phone antenna can cause cancer and other health problems. It is a risk that affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. It is a risk that must be seen and understood by all who use cell phones so they can take all the appropriate and available steps to protect themselves--and especially to protect young children whose skulls are still growing and who are the most vulnerable to the risks of radiation."

MORE PIECES COMING

- In 2000, a team of Sydney researchers published a scientific hypothesis about how mobile phone radiation causes cancer. The report claims that the radiation generated by cell phones causes ongoing stress to the body cells, causing them to give off 'heat shock proteins (HSP).' The human cells sometimes release these proteins in response to injury or infection. Such a chronic activation of the heat shock response affects the normal regulation of cells, which could result in cancer.

- In 2002, cell biologist Fiorenzo Marinelli and his team at the National Research Council in Bologna, Italy, exposed leukemia cells to continuous radio waves similar to that of cell phones. The exposed cells had a higher rate of death than the controls initially, but after further exposure, a curious thing happened: instead of more cells dying, the exposed cells were replicating furiously compared to the controls. Genes that trigger cells to multiply were turned on in a high proportion of the cells. The cancer, although briefly beaten back, had become more aggressive. Marinelli suspects that the radiation may initially damage DNA, and that this interferes with the biochemical signals in a way that ultimately triggers the cells to multiply more rapidly.

SO WHY ARE CELL PHONES STILL AROUND?

Now with all the mounting evidence, the cell phone industry still maintains their position that cell phones are safe and have even begun marketing towards children. The governments have been slow in stepping in to warn people of any danger from using cell phones. Fortunately, health officials and experts in several European countries are taking the first steps, having issued public warnings to parents urging caution about kids and cell phones,

If the previous environmental issues involving tobacco, asbestos, and lead are any indication, it takes years and even decades to accumulate the amount of evidence that would produce a definite ruling. In the case of cigarette smoking, it took two decades of study and 100 years of consumer use to gather enough data to meet research standards to demonstrate the need for the U.S. Surgeon General's warning label on cigarette packs. Some experts say that in the case of cell phones, it will not take that long as data are coming in at a faster pace. But at the present the authorities can only urge people to exercise caution.

Replication of research is another problem. A study that comes out with a new finding generally does not gain immediate acceptance in the scientific community or the wireless industry unless another research lab has been able to replicate the work and the findings. The industry has cleverly perpetuated their position by creating an illusion of responsible follow up by always calling for more research.

When Dr. Salford published his study in 2003 showing that rat brain neurons were dying from exposure to cellphone radiation, he warned there might be similar effects in humans that over time could lead to degenerative diseases of the brain. His study was written off by the industry as a "novel" finding that needed to be replicated.

But achieving the scientific standard of replication can be complicated. Salford says if studies aren't absolutely replicated, providing an apples-to-apples comparison, there's wiggle room to dispute follow-up findings. Research studies require funding, and the wireless industry, after Dr. Carlo's revelations, have been reluctant to put money into more comprehensive research. As for governments, again many European governments are taking the responsible course by funding research, but the U.S. and Canada are lagging poorly.

In 1999, CNN's Larry King once again featured a man who brought a multimillion dollar lawsuit against cell phone manufacturers. This time the man, a Maryland neurologist, was himself diagnosed with brain cancer--again located on the side of the head where he held his cell phone. The suit was yet again dismissed, however, and the man died not long afterwards.

According to WHO report, 0.1 billion people have died from tobacco use in the 20th century, and 10 times as many will die in the 21st century. No one is suggesting that cell phones could cause as much casualties, but do we really want to wait and find out?

AIMING FOR RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGY

Unlike tobacco, the cell phone has become as an indispensable part of our lives as television and computer. It has enabled us to make a gigantic leap in the way we communicate with one another and has been credited widely with saving people's lives in emergency situations. Cell phones are here to stay, and perhaps rightly so.

The question is not how to stop people from using this ubiquitous device but rather how to make it safer. The first step always is to admit there is a problem, hence the industry and the government have to acknowledge the health risks inherent with the present technology. This way we can all find the proper solutions that we may more enjoy the benefits of its use without sacrificing our health and wellbeing.

copyright 2005 Taraka Serrano

Taraka Serrano is a health advocate associated with BIOPRO Technology, a company that provides electromagnetic field (EMF) protection solutions. Watch the special video report: "The Invisible Dangers of EMF Radiation" For more information about the health dangers of EMF exposure and to find out how you can protect yourself and your family, check out BIOPRO EMF Protection

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Sanyo SCP – 6760 Incognito (Sprint) Mobile Phone Review

Sanyo SCP – 6760 Incognito (Sprint) Mobile Phone Review Wednesday September 22nd 2010, 12:02 pm
Filed under: Uncategorized

If you take a look at the Sanyo SCP-6760 Incognito’s exterior design, you find that it is similar with AT&T’s Pantech Impact, especially the touch keypad and the display. It flips open to get full QWERTY keyboard and 2.6 inch screen that help you to type long messages quickly. Therefore, you can update your status in social network such as Facebook and MySpace in ease.

If you flip the Sanyo to horizontal mode, you will see that the phone takes a cue from several mobile phones like LG enV Touch. This handset measures 3.7 inches and 4.3 ounces weight and has sleek design with a unique external glow-thru keypad and OLED screen that is invisible when the backligting is off.

The Sanyo Incognito is also supported with external memory slot for MicroSD that supports for optional cards up to 16GB, micro USB port, a voice dialing control and the volume rocker. For the camera, you find it sitting on the rear side next to speaker that has 2 megapixel camera with video capture capabilities. This camera can shoot pictures from 320 x 240 pixel to 1600 x 1200 pixel and also allows you to edit its image quality, brightness, sharpness, contrast, balance and color tone to get the best composition. Besides, it has a digital zoom, a choice fun frame, multi shot mode, a self timer, three sutter sounds, and few scene modes like beach/snow and night.

The Sanyo SCP-6760 Incognito (SPRINT) features 3G network (EV-DO Rev. 0) to provide high speed internet connectivity. You can browse any sites, stream video and download files or songs quickly. The screen display is not quite wide that makes the images looks small. However, the music quality is good with its external speaker but it is better if you have headsets for a better sound.

With the sprint services, you will get the strong points of the Sanyo Incognito from broadband-like 3G network, Sprint TV enable for updating news from reliable channels including NFL network, ABC, The weather Channel, Fox Sport, CNN, the Discovery Channel and more. Besides, the Sprint Music store and GPS capable with Sprint Navigation, will be the other advantages.

Zammax is an electronic product reviewer, especially for New Mobile Phones. You can find more insights and groundbreaking reviews of any types of mobile phones and basic guide before you buy them including Sanyo SCP-6760 Incognito.

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Why get Cell Phones with MP3 's-here are a few good reasons

Mobile phones ... has become an integral part of daily life for almost any person
to mobile phone manufacturing and service sectors has made it to the top spots of
most profitable companies. most of the population has become so dependent on mobile phones
they couldn't live in your House or even get out of the House without their cell
phones.

Competition among mobile phone producers have become so rigid that each company is
putting most of its money to develop new features and mobile phone models that would capture the
weight of the masses, and which will make them beg for more mobile phones.

Advancements in battery cell technology technology ...

Has allowed the introduction of various functions
in mobile phones mobile phones are basically used to call people, but it has come a long way
from the beginning and now possesses Advanced and complicated features such as text messages,
Bluetooth, radios and other innovations.

Gone are the days ...

When buying a mobile phone means to choose which one is powerful enough to last the test of time
and the test of wear. today, is to get a mobile phone has become more complicated as
users are presented with a number of different models, providing additional features such as MP3.
The emergence of multimedia has not spared on mobile phones. Sometimes, are cell phones become
so multi task, that it is already difficult to find the line that specifies the cell phones from
radios, cameras and even MP3 files.

Mobile phone manufacturers have taken advantage of MP3 popularity and has designed
mobile phones with MP3 capabilities. With a cellphone loaded with an MP3, the user can now perform
a collection of his favorite CDs wherever he goes.

A mobile phone with an MP3 function allows compression of the data, and it allows loading
as much music as possible to the mobile phone the same MP3 downloads are being played by
IPods and almost of the same quality as the original CD 's, where they were sourced from.
One of the major mobile phone manufacturers have launched a mobile phone with a multi-music
capacity much like iPod and MP3 players.Those who like their
music with them will anytime, anywhere certainly make the most of the latest mobile phone
models.

There are people ...

Who prefer still buy gadgets, specifically used for a function and not buy a
mobile phone that can multitask. But those who want to get the best, but in lower costs
looking at buying mobile phones that can serve not only as a phone but also as a
camera and more complicated iPod and MP3 player. Has three or more functions in a
carry-all gadget is better than having to carry three or more items at the same time.
Not so long after the mobile phone cum iPod cum MP3 player has been launched, mobile phone
for manufacturers, it is again and underemployed mobile phones, which can download music without
cables, or even a USB connection.

Mobile phones are becoming smaller and thinner daily but their capacity is
becomes more and more sophisticated mobile phones have multi-purpose functionality to it
been gadget of choice for most people.
While the new features may mean good news for mobile phone users, there is also a fear,
the smaller parts and gadgets will be detrimental to the overall performance and reliability
of mobile phones. Miniature parts for multi functional cell phones can mean less strongly
and easily damaged cell phones.

Finally ...

The continuous market research and development are being imposed by mobile phone producers
in their products such as mobile phones with MP3 takes competition in another
This time the competition level. not only needs a bigger share of mobile phone
users. they also compete over who can introduce the most innovative functionality to new cell
telephones for the cheapest possible price.

Bart Rutherford

Editor

Stop by http://www.officialcellular.com more informative tips and information. verify and visit there .... those facts are, so to speak, from actual experiences and situations on a distributor from the horses mouth.

LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 (Verizon Wireless)

The good: The LG Chocolate Touch has a great music player, a 3.2-megapixel camera, GPS, EV-DO, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a responsive touch screen.

The bad: The LG Chocolate Touch has a disappointing browser, and the overall look and feel of the phone is nothing we haven't seen before.

The bottom line: Despite our issues with the browser and the uninteresting design, the LG Chocolate Touch is a terrific music phone for Verizon Wireless.

When the LG Chocolate first came into the scene with the VX8500 model back in 2006, it was preceded by a ton of hype. And such is the case with its fourth and most recent incarnation, the LG Chocolate Touch. As the name indicates, it is a touch-screen phone with the famous Chocolate branding, and so we were expecting to see a brand new design and upgraded features.

As it turned out, LG actually introduced two Chocolate models with touch screens. The first is the LG Chocolate BL40, which features a cinematic 21:9 aspect ... Expand full review

When the LG Chocolate first came into the scene with the VX8500 model back in 2006, it was preceded by a ton of hype. And such is the case with its fourth and most recent incarnation, the LG Chocolate Touch. As the name indicates, it is a touch-screen phone with the famous Chocolate branding, and so we were expecting to see a brand new design and upgraded features.

As it turned out, LG actually introduced two Chocolate models with touch screens. The first is the LG Chocolate BL40, which features a cinematic 21:9 aspect ratio, multitouch capabilities, a 5-megapixel camera, and a bevy of impressive features. Unfortunately, it's available only in European and Asian markets (you can read our review of the LG Chocolate BL40 at CNET UK), so we had to settle for the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575, which is far less impressive.

Even so, Verizon Wireless's Chocolate Touch remains a decent phone. It's slim and lightweight, with a beautiful touch display that's surprisingly responsive. Like all the other Chocolate handsets, the Touch is a music-centric phone, with features like Dolby Mobile equalizer settings, an FM radio, and even a virtual drum kit. Combined with a 3.2-megapixel camera, EV-DO, and a full HTML browser, the Chocolate Touch VX8575 is a great music phone for Verizon Wireless customers. Just don't expect anything new in terms of design. The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 is $79.99 with a two-year service agreement from Verizon Wireless.

Design
On the face of it, the LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 is similar to other LG touch-screen phones that we've reviewed, like the LG Vu and the LG Dare. Measuring 4.3 inches long by 2.2 inches wide by 0.47 inch thick, the Chocolate Touch is rectangular with slightly rounded edges. It is encased in a very reflective shell, save for four geometric shapes on its back side that are covered in a soft touch material. You get two changeable back plates with the phone: one with black shapes, and the other with purple. The reflective part of the phone is so shiny that you can use it as a mirror.

The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 has geometric shapes on the back.

The 3.0-inch display is vibrant and colorful, thanks to 262,000-color support and 400x240 pixel resolution. It really shows off the drop shadows and color gradients of the graphics. You can adjust the backlight time, the charging screen (what shows on the display when the phone is charging), the clock format on the home screen, the menu font style, and the dial font size.

On the right side of the Touch's home screen are two shortcut icons, which you can choose to hide if you wish. They correspond to a shortcut bin, and the music player shortcut. When you tap the arrow for the shortcut bin, you'll see a pullout menu of application and media file shortcuts, which you can drag and drop to the home screen. Some shortcuts are also full-on widgets, like those for the clock, the calendar, and the memo pad. You can add and remove shortcuts easily from the pullout menu as well. Along the bottom row of the home screen are shortcuts to the messaging in-box, the phone dialer, the main menu, the contacts list, and the favorite contacts screen.

On the whole, the touch screen is quite responsive. We like the haptics vibration feedback, though you also can add a sound effect to let you know your touch has registered. You can adjust the length and intensity of the vibration, and there's also a touch calibration wizard to help ensure accuracy. It does take a bit to get used to the touch screen, though; sometimes we activated something when we just wanted to scroll down a list.

The Touch VX8575 has an internal accelerometer that will rotate the screen from portrait to landscape mode as you turn the phone in your hand. Keep in mind that it works only in certain applications, like the Web browser. What's more, when you rotate the phone to landscape mode while in the text messaging app, you'll see a full QWERTY keyboard. The virtual keyboard is quite easy to use. The keys magnify as you tap them, and there's a dedicated @ key that double as a ".com" key when you hit shift. You also can enter text in portrait mode via a nine-key alphanumeric keypad or via handwriting recognition, but we much prefer the full QWERTY keyboard.

The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 has strangely shaped keys underneath the display.

Underneath the display are three physical keys: Send, Clear, and End/Power. The Clear key doubles as the voice record with a long press. The keys are shaped like amorphous blobs, which complement the geometric shapes on the back of the phone. On the left side of the phone are the charger jack, the volume control, and the speakerphone key. A 3.5mm headset jack is on the top and the camera key, the music player key, and the screen lock key are on the right side. On the back is the camera lens. The microSD card slot is located behind the battery cover.

Features
The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 has a generous 1,000-entry phone book with room in each entry for five numbers, two e-mail addresses, an instant-messaging user name, and a street address. You can also organize your contacts into groups, and pair them with a photo and any of 21 polyphonic ringtones. Other basics include a vibrate mode, a speakerphone (which you can activate prior to a call), threaded text and multimedia messaging, voice messaging, a calendar, an alarm clock, a world clock, a stopwatch, a notepad, a calculator, a tip calculator, and a drawing pad, which you can use to make sketches for multimedia messages.

The Touch VX8575 also boasts a "Social Network Shortcut Key," which opens a menu that you can populate with shortcuts for updating your status or photo on a variety of social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. These aren't real applications; they're just a way for you to quickly update your social network via SMS or MMS.

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More advanced features include USB mass storage, voice command dialing, and a variety of Bluetooth profiles like hands-free, dial-up networking, A2DP or stereo, file transfer, and more. And if you're willing to cough up $3 a month for it, you'll also get Verizon's Visual Voice Mail.

The Touch offers three e-mail options: mobile e-mail, corporate e-mail--and calendar syncing--through RemoSync, and mobile Web email, which just gives you quick browser access to popular Web e-mail sites like Hotmail and Yahoo Mail. The phone also has GPS with VZ Navigator support, and the EV-DO support brings V Cast video streaming.

The star feature of the phone, however, is the music player. We're happy to see that it has its own interface and doesn't just copy the look of the V Cast Music store. It organizes songs into artists, albums, and genres, and you can create and edit your own playlists. The player interface has the album art in the middle and the player controls along the bottom. You can set songs on repeat or shuffle as well. To load songs on the Touch, you can either purchase tunes directly from the V Cast Music store or sync with the PC using the V Cast Music with Rhapsody software. If you have a Rhapsody account, you can sync subscribed tracks as well. You don't need the software to load the songs though; you can just drag and drop them to the microSD card.

The main attraction of the music player on the Touch VX8575 is the Dolby Mobile equalizer. There are five equalizer presets (Flat, Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Vocal Boost, and Classical), plus a manual equalizer if you really want it customized. A few extra player features include a visualizer effect, plus a "rhythmical beat" option that makes the phone vibrate along to the song. Our favorite, however, is the "Join the Band" option that brings up a full drum kit or a scrolling 88-key keyboard for you to play along to the music. It's not very useful perhaps, but it's a lot of fun to play. Other music player options include an FM radio with 12 presets (it only works when you plug in a wired headset) and integrated song ID.

The LG Chocolate Touch VX8575 has a 3.2-megapixel camera on the back.

The Chocolate Touch also has a 3.2-megapixel camera, which can take pictures in five resolutions (2,048x1,536, 1,600x1,200, 1,280x960, 800x480, 640x480), five white balance presets, and five color effects. It has three focusing modes, a self-timer, and special shot modes like Panorama and Intelligent shot. Photo quality is quite good overall. We didn't like the low-light shots due to the lack of flash, but images do look sharp and colorful for the most part.

The LG Chocolate Touch takes pretty good photos.

There's also a full HTML browser, which isn't as full featured as we would like. It lets us surf and browse full Web pages, and we like that you can view them in full-screen mode, add bookmarks, search through a page, and zoom in and out with the volume rocker or an onscreen magnifying glass. But the Web search function on the browser only uses the Microsoft Bing service, and whenever you want to enter a URL, you have to keep going back to a URL-entry page.

You can personalize the Chocolate Touch with graphics and ringtones. If you're not satisfied with the options on the phone, you can download more from the Verizon Wireless store. The Touch comes with two games--Rock Band and Sims 3--and you can get more games and applications via the mobile Web browser as well.

Performance
We tested the LG Chocolate Touch in San Francisco using Verizon Wireless. Call quality was impressive on the whole. Callers could hear us loudly and clearly for the most part. They did hear a slight fuzziness in the background and they said our voice quality was a bit harsh, but those were not deal breakers.

On our end, we could hear them clearly without any interference. Their voice sounded quite natural as well. Speakerphone calls fared similarly; they said they could hear us with plenty of volume and with a slight echo effect, but nothing terribly distracting. On our end, the speakerphone had plenty of volume, and though the callers' voices didn't sound as natural, we could still carry on a conversation just fine.

We really liked the audio quality of the Chocolate Touch. Of course, the speakers didn't really do justice to the music, but even without a headset, you could hear the difference of each equalizer setting quite clearly. You do really need a headset to fully enjoy the bass boost setting though.

We were pleased with the EV-DO Rev. 0 speeds too. It's not quite as fast as EV-DO Rev. A, but we still managed to download a 2.08MB song in around 40 seconds, and we loaded the CNET front page in about 25 seconds. We also managed to stream videos from V Cast with little to no buffering. The streaming video quality was mediocre at best, with a lot of pixelation and blurriness.

The LG Chocolate Touch has a rated battery life of 5.1 hours talk time and 19.6 days standby time. It has a slightly longer talk time in our tests with 6 hours and 52 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the Chocolate Touch has a digital SAR of 1.47 watts per kilogram.

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Prepaid Cell Phones-are they right for you

In today's world of communication technologies, there is a lot out there to consider before you invest in a cell phone plan. With a wide range of carriers offers dozens of options, it is not always easy to isolate the one package out of the many that would best suit your needs. The general elections are sometimes not available to people who are inhibited by special circumstances, such as poor credit or other types of financial constraints. In cases such as those can prepaid mobile phones be the legendary lifesaver. You do not need to be financially limited to consider a prepaid wireless plan, however. Many people choose to purchase this type of service in order to avoid contracts that lock them into services for a designated amount of time and money.

As with everything else in this world, there are positives and negatives associated with the option of a "pay as you go ' mobile phone. depending on your needs, priorities and preferences, you can simply find that the option of prepaid time is the best cellphone plan for yourself.

PROS



Unlike mobile phone packages that are more standardized, requires no prepaid wireless plans for you to sign a contract. Since you are obliged to pay for the minute to use the start, there is no monthly bill to working within your budget. For those who suffer from a bad credit history, there are a number of mobile phone service providers offering a "no credit check" mobile phone option. Often, you will be able to find cell phone offer that does not require a deposit to be put in order to obtain a phone and buy minutes.If you have teenagers, or young children, which will require a mobile phone in order to stay in touch with you throughout the day, is the prepaid mobile phones a wonderful opportunity because there is no age requirement to buy minutes.Parents buy just the phone, and their children can buy the minutes, as they need at the most local convenience stores, Department stores or pharmacies. Unlike most mobile phone offers, there are no hidden fees, timing of mobile phone carriers, which offers the prepaid option. When everything is paid in advance, you save on taxes, as well as activation fees and termination fees. Basically, it is the one price to buy minutes, without the extra charges hanging over your head.




DISADVANTAGES

When you buy a specific amount of minutes for your phone, the device no longer works when the time has been spent.In some cases, you must apply for a new phone number, if the Protocol has been zeroed out or the time when you need them has expired.If you need to choose a prepaid mobile phone, so you say "Goodbye" the idea of cheap long distance calls.

The fact is that prepaid minutes on average about twice as much in price as mainstream calling plans. While you may find some mobile phone offers to your prepaid unit, are you more inclined to find that you will not be eligible for many of the services that standard mobile phone users to enjoy. for example, do not expect to be able to use your phone in analog areas or have wireless Internet access. Even if you have access to special services, you need to pay much more for them.The actual phones are typically much more expensive, because the cell phone companies are not so inclined to offer so many offerings for the prepaid black. If you have young children, who need to carry a mobile phone, the, to learn how to enable a prepaid phone card, if circumstances require, and an adult is not present, assist them.
Prepaid Cell Phone Carriers

Depending on your location, there are often several settings of mobile phone carriers, which will provide prepaid phones and services.First you must decide which type of service that will best meet your needs-purchase a telephone using an air carrier and then commit yourself buy minutes from them within a designated time frame or purchase type mobile phone, which makes it possible to buy only the map with a specified number of minutes each time you add time to your phone.Here are a few to consider:
Cingular Wireless offers two options for prepaid cellular customers (pay as You Go, or Select your plan), Cingular does not require a credit check deposit or annual contract. depending on the plan you choose, you can receive unlimited calls to other Cingular customers, free and weekend minutes, or the ability to roll over unused minutes to the next month.TracFone-after purchase the phone, which is relatively cheap and can be purchased at most local stores or online, consumers can purchase card, which offers a designated number of minutes (typically 40, 100, 200, etc.) must be used within a given time.Time can be added whenever you want, which then will extend the expiration date to match the latest purchases. If the minutes go lower than 10 and you are near expiration date or if the expiration date has been met without buying additional minutes-then you should expect to lose your phone number and to reactivate the service and has assigned a new number. Verizon-this carrier offers both prepaid calling card and prepaid personal accounts, gives a bit more in the way of options than some of their competitors. Customers can enjoy no monthly fees, universal service charges, weekly surcharges or short-minute penalties and minutes can be purchased online; Verizon also gives you the advantage to view your calling history online.
Are prepaid Cell Phones the best alternative?

To commit themselves to a prepaid mobile phone or not really depends on your personal needs and preferences; If you do not want to be locked into a contract on iron-clad, has a credit check performed, provide a security deposit or pay a fixed monthly payment, so you may just want to stick with a prepaid mobile phone If you want, on the other hand, security no expiration dates, the ability to use as many minutes as you need without constant to buy new cards or offers such as free evening/weekend minutes, then a standard mobile phone plan is probably more in line with what you're looking for, after all.

About the author

Samantha Goode is a writer freelance technology that loves to give consumers shopping tips for prepaid mobile phones [http://www.a1-cell-phones.com/prepaid-cell-phones.html], cell phone deals [http://www.a1-cell-phones.com/index.html] and cell phone carriers [http://www.a1-cell-phones.com/cell-phone-service.html].

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 (AT&T)

The good: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 has a user-friendly design with a brilliant display. The feature set is generous, the internal performance is fast, and call and data quality are satisfactory.

The bad: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 runs Android OS 1.6. The Timescape application has its faults, and you must use a third-party app for Outlook calendar syncing.

The bottom line: The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 offers a slick, user-friendly design with a solid feature set and good call quality. We lament, however, that the device is stuck on Android 1.6.

Editors' note: Portions of this review were taken from our review of the unlocked Xperia X10. We adjusted the score of this review on August 18, 2010, to reflect additional testing.

When we reviewed the unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 last March, we had a lot of good things to say about Sony Ericsson's first foray into the Android operating system. With its large display, loaded feature set, and agreeable call quality, the X10 offered much of what we'd expect from a smartphone, even if the unlocked price tag of $700 was ... Expand full review

Editors' note: Portions of this review were taken from our review of the unlocked Xperia X10. We adjusted the score of this review on August 18, 2010, to reflect additional testing.

When we reviewed the unlocked Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 last March, we had a lot of good things to say about Sony Ericsson's first foray into the Android operating system. With its large display, loaded feature set, and agreeable call quality, the X10 offered much of what we'd expect from a smartphone, even if the unlocked price tag of $700 was hard to swallow.

Fortunately, price is no longer an issue now that the handset has landed in AT&T's lineup. Thanks to carrier subsidies, you can get it for a more reasonable $149 if you sign a new two-year contract. It's even cheaper for commitmentphobes, who will pay just $349. We're also pleased that with this version of the X10, data quality is a bit better and the virtual keyboard works across all applications.

Yet, even with those improvements we're not prepared to crown the X10 as one of the best Android handsets. For starters, it's stuck on Android 1.6. Though that was fine five months ago, it's not good when the rest of the Android family is moving to 2.2. Also, we remain wary about the Timescape application and Sony Ericsson's User Experience (UXP) interface.

Design and display
Though it now enjoys plenty of company in this area, the X10 remains one of the bigger smartphones around at 4.7 inches long by 2.5 inches wide by 0.5 inch deep. Sure, it makes for a tight fit in pockets, but the 4-inch display is perfectly appropriate for a touch-screen device and the X10 is lighter than you might think (4.8 ounces). If the bulk does concern you, however, the X10 Mini and the X10 Mini Pro offer many of the same features but in more petite designs.

The X10's rear face is purposely curved; Sony Ericsson does this so the device matches the natural curve of your hand. We understand any skepticism, but it's only the slightest bit gimmicky. Indeed, the X10 fits comfortably in the hand, but it wasn't a huge leap over other handsets. The curved back means, however, that when it's resting on a flat surface, the X10 wobbles if you try to tap at the screen.

With support for 65,536 colors, the display doesn't quite measure up to some of its Android competitors. It's still quite lovely thanks to its rich resolution (854x480 pixels), but you'll notice the difference when you hold the X10 next to a Droid device or the HTC Evo 4G. The touch interface was accurate and responsive, both when tapping icons and swiping through long lists. It even was responsive at the very edges of the display.

You get three home screens that you can populate as you please with shortcuts, folders, and widgets. Like all Android phones, other display options are limited to the wallpaper, brightness, and backlighting time; the menu font size and style aren't customizable. Our only real complaint about the display is that it shows smudges way too easily; we were wiping it clean constantly just to see it clearly. The display has the standard Android notifications bar, and the menu is accessible through the arrow at the bottom of the display. The X10 has an accelerometer, but not a proximity sensor.

We thank Sony Ericsson for giving the X10 standard headset and charger ports.

Below the display are the X10's only physical controls. The Home key, back button, and menu control are large and tactile, so we had no trouble using them. On the left spine are the volume rocker and a camera shutter. The latter is a rather small, but it didn't pose a problem. On the top of the phone are the 3.5mm headset jack, the power control, and the Micro-USB port for the charger and syncing cable. Here, again, we give Sony Ericsson major points for ditching the proprietary connections and including a microSD card slot. The slot is located behind the battery cover, but we'll let that slide in this case since we aren't stuck with a Memory Stick Micro format.

Virtual keyboard
The X10's virtual keyboard is very close to the standard Android design, but it offers a few unique elements. In landscape mode it takes advantage of the display's full size so you have plenty of room for typing. On the primary keyboard there are three rows of alphabetic keys with the space bar conveniently located in the center of the bottom row. You'll also find basic punctuation and a smiley key, but you'll need to switch to the numeric keyboard for other characters.

The X10's virtual keyboard works across all applications.

We also love the X0's autocomplete function and dictionary. Instead of just one possible choice when writing a word, the X10 offers up to 20 possible choices. For example, if you type "it" you get not only "its" as an option, but also "itself," "Italy," "item," and even "ignore." Even better, the X10 is adept at remembering previously used words and offering them as suggestions even if they aren't in the dictionary. After typing "kgerman" just once, we got it as a suggestion each time we started typing another word that begins with G.

As previously mentioned, the landscape keyboard now works in the messaging app. That's a huge plus over the unlocked X10, which made its landscape keyboard available only in the e-mail app. We never understood the reason for that discrepancy, but it's irrelevant now. We also liked the phone dialer, which has a simple, easy-to-use design.

Interface
As we said, it's a major bummer that the X10 runs Android OS 1.6. Though 1.6, or "Donut" as it's also known, looks particularly dated now, it was old even when Sony Ericsson introduced the X10 last December. At that time, the Motorola Droid had been out with Android 2.0 for a couple of months, so you'd think that Sony Ericsson would have come through with another update by now. Last we heard, the X10 isn't supposed to get Android 2.1 until the fourth quarter of this year. And even if that arrives on schedule, the X10 will be behind the crop of devices that are currently receiving Froyo.

Though Google always has said that manufacturers and carriers decide when a device receives an OS update, we've constantly implored those players to issue updates as soon as possible. Granted, some users may not care about Android firmware, but we can't imagine that there are a lot of them. In the end, the X10's popularity will no doubt suffer until it can catch up

Of course, you have to consider Sony Ericsson's UXP, which sits on top of the standard Android OS. Though customized user interfaces can be attractive, and UXP certainly is, they lose their luster if they interfere with Android's evolution. UXP was designed with 1.6 in mind, and it needs to be enhanced and formatted with each Android update. That's a big job, indeed. What's more, though UXP is user-friendly, and we admire the design work that went into it (see our slideshow for an in-depth look of UXP), we prefer to let Android be Android.

Timescape
The X10 also features Sony Ericsson's Timescape, which combines your various messages, alerts, and contacts into a steady flow of communication. After registering your chosen accounts for e-mail, Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook, it displays your latest e-mails, text messages, and social media alerts in a flowing design that resembles a stacked deck of cards. To move through the deck, just swipe your finger along the display and the cards will fly by. Timescape also can display your latest social media alerts on the home screen, though we chose to remove that option. We just didn't need to see what was going on with our friends at every moment.

Timescape shows you a lot of information. It might even be too much. Hide Review Next page

On the upside, Timescape is slick and pretty, and it offers a wealth of features. For instance, tapping an individual card or tile will display that message or update in its entirety with the source (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) and the contact's photo. You'll also see an infinity symbol in the upper-right corner. Tap that and you'll see a list of all communication between you and that contact. You also can use the touch controls on the bottom of the display to sort the feed by the source and set your status for Twitter and Facebook.

On the other hand, Timescape can be a bit much. Yes, we said this when we first saw MotoBlur on the Cliq, but the X10's busier design makes it even more overwhelming. For example, when you switch between the different feeds, the old tiles fly out to one side and the new tiles fly in from the other. It's rather like you were playing a game of poker and a disgruntled opponent took the playing cards and threw them in the air. The effect is exciting the first few times, but then it just gets a bit disorienting.

Contacts and calendar
Like with other Android phones, you can sync your Gmail contacts instantly. The size of the X10's phone book is limited by the available memory, but each entry can store multiple fields for phone numbers, street addresses, work information, e-mails, URLs, instant-messaging handles, nicknames, and notes. You also can add a photo and see a friend's Facebook and Twitter status if he or she has an account with either service. But the X10 doesn't stop there. When viewing an individual contact, you can see the call log between you and that person and a list of all text messages. That's a nice touch.

The calendar app has the UXP skin, but it still has the basic Android design. Of course, you can sync with your Gmail calendar after you register your Google account. If you don't have a Google account, you can create one right on the phone. You also can sync contacts and the calendar with the Sony Ericsson Sync service. Unfortunately, the X10 doesn't offer direct Outlook calendar, notes, and contacts syncing. Instead you must use a third-party app that comes preinstalled on the phone. It works well enough, but we'd prefer not going through a middleman.

E-mail and messaging
Besides Gmail and the usual text and multimedia messaging, the X10 is capable of syncing with other POP3 accounts. But like with some other Android phones, we weren't able use the easy setup method to add Yahoo accounts. We were successful when we used the manual setup, but that requires you to know information like the incoming and outgoing server settings. And if you need more ways to communicate, there's a dedicated instant messaging app.

For corporate e-mail, AT&T's X10a comes with an integrated Work E-mail application from FutureDial. At first, we didn't understand why Sony Ericsson used a third-party solution for Outlook mail rather than using the Android's standard e-mail app. On closer inspection, however, we approve of the move. Work E-mail performs quite well and we had no trouble syncing our Outlook Web Access account. It offers a wealth of features including two-way syncing for calendar, contacts, e-mail, and tasks. You can't sync notes, but that's an omission we've seen on other smartphones. IT departments can use remote wipe, and the app offers Global Address list access. For other Android phones, that feature is available only through Froyo.

Media
The X10 has an 8.1-megapixel camera. You can take pictures in four resolutions and choose from a variety of "scene" modes (night, portrait, landscape, etc.). Other camera options include face detection, autofocus, a macro setting, a flash, a photo light, a self-timer, four white-balance settings, spot metering, an image stabilizer, geotagging, a brightness meter, smile detection, and a digital zoom. There's almost no shutter lag if you press the control firmly.

The X10's flash and camera lens sit on its back side.

Photo quality is decent, though not a sharp as we'd like. Photos were rather dim so you should use the flash whenever you don't have optimal lighting. There also was a bit of image noise. When you're done shooting, you can transfer your photos off the phone or store them on the handset's internal memory. You get a very respectable 1GB of shared space and the X10 will accommodate microSD cards up to 16GB (an 8GB card comes with the phone). And for viewing stored photos, we like the "filmstrip" interface.

The X10 offers acceptable photo quality.

The camcorder shoots clips in five resolutions including a wide VGA and a format for uploading to YouTube. Clips meant for multimedia messages are capped at 14 seconds, but you can shoot for longer in standard mode. Editing options are similar to the still camera. Video quality is fine, but not amazing.

The music player is accessed through the X1's Mediascape app. Similar to Timescape, Mediascape displays your photos, videos, and music tracks in one convenient place. The infinity feature also works here, though it shows all the photos and videos shot on the same day and all music tracks by a single artist. The interface is attractive and easy to use, and a bit less busy than Timescape.

The music player is improved over other Android phones. It displays album art and you can access shuffle and repeat modes, set favorites, send the track in a message, and designate a track as a ringtone. Loading music on the phone is quite easy whether you're using a USB cable or a memory card. Thanks to Android's efficient USB transfer/storage and PC syncing support, our PC recognized the X10 right when we plugged it in. Music quality is admirable. The external speaker gets loud enough, but the sound gets distorted the higher you go. We recommend headphones for the best experience.

Google and other features
The X10 includes a calculator, a full duplex speakerphone, GPS, A2DP stereo Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. A helpful electronic user guide is accessible through the main menu, and we're thrilled that the X10 has an OfficeSuite file manager. The browser has a standard Android design, and you can replace it with another browser, if you'd like. Voice dialing is onboard as well, but keep in mind you need Froyo to get hands-free dialing with Bluetooth devices.

You'll find the full slate of Google applications like YouTube, and Google Talk. Google Maps offers the standard features, plus a variety of map layers (traffic, transit lines, etc.), a link to Wikipedia, and Google Latitude. Outside of Google, the X10 comes integrated with MobiTV, a calculator, a dedicated Facebook app, a Mobile Banking service, Yellow Pages Mobile, and Where Mobile. Of course, you can get more titles and games through the Android Market.

AT&T also puts its own stamp on the phone with a number of carrier-specific applications. You'll find AT&T FamilyMap, AT&T Hot Spots for finding Wi-Fi locations, AT&T Navigator, AT&T Maps, AT&T Mobile Video, and AT&T Radio.

Performance
Thanks to the X10's 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, the handset is very fast. There was no lag when opening most applications, accessing menus, and pulling up the main menu from the home screen. The Timescape feature can take up to 4 seconds to get started, but that's to be expected on such a graphics-heavy app.

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 world phone in San Francisco using AT&T service. Call quality was no different from the unlocked version, which is to say it's generally admirable. The signal was strong and clear, the volume was loud, and voices sounded natural. At the higher volumes there was a slight audible hiss on some calls, but it wasn't a big problem.

On their end, callers said we sounded fine. Most could tell we were using a cell phone, but we didn't get many complaints outside of the hiss that we also heard. A couple of our friends said that unless we spoke directly into the microphone they had trouble hearing us when we were in noisy places. As such, the X10 has a sensitive sweet spot. Speakerphone calls were quite good with loud volume and little audio distortion. We also had a good experience with a Bluetooth headset.

Fortunately, the AT&T offered faster data performance than the unlocked model. It still wasn't as zippy as most of the Android handsets from Sprint and Verizon, but busy Web sites like Airliners.net opened in about 30 seconds. Cleaner sites won't take as long, but some sites with more graphics may require more time. Also, Timescape appears to suck a lot of the phone's energy so we were glad that you can set the frequency of Timescape updates. The X10 supports worldwide 3G bands (UMTS/HSPA 850/1800 in North America), so it is compatible with AT&T networks.

The X10 has a rated battery life of 10 hours 2G talk time and 8 hours 3G talk time. Promised standby time is 17.7 days. In our tests, we had a talk time of 9 hours and 2 minutes. According to FCC radiation tests, the X10 has a digital SAR of 1.43 watts per kilogram.

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