Cell Phone FAQ's

I'm concerned about the radiation I get from my cell phone. Where do I go to get information on my cell phones SAR rating (Specific Absorption Rate , which is a measure of the amount of radio frequency energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone)?

The FCC has information on many phones. You can check at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/sar/. You may need to do some digging in your phones innards to find the necessary information to look up the device. You can also usually get it from your carrier. So far there is no proof that cell phone radiation is dangerous.

I'm getting a new cell phone and want to recycle my old one. How do I clear all of the information off my phone before recycling it?

Instructions for resetting your phone should be in the manual that came with it. If you don't have the manual, you can get reset information for nearly 500 phones using the Phone Data Eraser feature at http://www.wirelessrecycling.com. Or just call your wireless carrier or the company that made your phone and ask them how to do it. The website can also give you information on where to recycle. If your phone is still good and fairly recent it may have some resale value. Sites such as gazelle will buy your old phone from you.

Which cell phone carrier offers the best service in this area?

Due to the geographical and rural nature of our area phone coverage can be spotty. Different carriers provide different call quality in different areas. The only way to truly tell how good the coverage will be where you want to use it is to get a phone from the carrier you are interested in and check the levels at the locations you use most. You will probably find that there is no carrier that will provide high quality service everywhere you want it.

New phones are advertising 4G. What is that and should I get a phone with 4G?

4G stands for 4th generation data. 4G speeds are significantly faster than 3G when available. If you use a lot of data a 4G phone will be better as long as you are in an area that it is supported. Currently there is no carrier offering 4G in our area. One of the downsides of 4G is shorter battery life so if you don't need it you should turn off the 4G radio.

What is a Smartphone? Do I need it?

A Smartphone is basically a small computer. While it maintains all of the phone features it adds the ability to access the internet and to perform a variety of tasks. Smartphones require a data package in addition to the phone charges and these usually start at $20 a month and go up from there depending on your usage of internet services. Smartphones can include cameras. GPS, video messaging and the ability to run "Apps", small programs that allow other functions such as maps, note taking, online banking, games, music downloads, shopping, travel info, video watching, Facebook access and weather as well as a web browser. The selection of Apps will depend on the operating system installed on your phone. The most common Smartphone operating systems are IOS from Apple (the iPhone), Android from Google (available on phones from many manufacturers), Blackberry and Windows Mobile (created by  Microsoft but licensed to many phone manufacturers). Many useful Apps are free but some charge for the apps with 1-3 dollars being common but some are considerably more. Smartphones come with an App store app already installed to allow you to find and download whatever you need.

If you don't feel a need for internet access from your phone you can stick with a regular cell phone, but many people find themselves using their phones more and their computers less.