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SF shelves cell phone radiation ordinance

San Francisco officials have indefinitely delayed implementation of the city's Right to Know ordinance, which would have required retailers to display a phone's Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) at the point of sale and distribute materials educating consumers on cell phone radiation. A revamped version of the legislation is likely to be introduced in its place, but no further details have been announced.

First passed last June, the ordinance (PDF) quickly prompted a lawsuit from the wireless industry's lobbying arm, the CTIA. In addition to claiming that the law was unconstitutional because only the FCC and FDA have … Read more

On Call: Are you carrying your phone wrong?

On Call runs every two weeks, alternating between answering reader questions and discussing hot topics in the cell phone world.

Next Monday, the Environmental Quality Committee of the California State Senate will hold its first hearing on a bill that would require retailers in the state to inform consumers of the possible health risks of cell phone use. SB 932, which was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would add notices on product packaging and at the point of sale explaining that phones emit radio frequency (RF) energy. If it passes, it would be the first statewide law of … Read more

California Senate to consider cell phone radiation bill

A bill that would require California retailers to inform consumers of the possible health risks of cell phone use received its first reading this week in the Rules Committee of the state senate. Following minor amendments, the legislation now proceeds to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee for initial consideration.

Sponsored by Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), SB 932 would require retailers to include notices on product packaging that cell phones emit radio frequency (RF) energy. A second notice also must be posted at the point of sale when purchasing online or in a physical store.

In an interview with CNET, … Read more

San Francisco officials discuss CTIA lawsuit in closed-door meeting

Minutes after they gave preliminary approval to a payroll tax break to keep tech companies like Twitter in San Francisco, the city's Board of Supervisors used a closed-door meeting yesterday to discuss a lawsuit by the CTIA. The board also decided not to disclose what it discussed during the session.

It was the second time in three weeks that the board had met privately with City Attorney Dennis Herrera's office to discuss the CTIA's suit over the city's Right-to-Know ordinance (PDF). Passed last June, the legislation requires cell phone retailers to display the Specific Absorption Rate (… Read more

CTIA argues SF cell phone law violates First Amendment

San Francisco's board of supervisors has agreed to put its Right-to-Know Ordinance under further review after the wireless industry's lobbying arm claimed the legislation infringes on the First Amendment rights of cell phone retailers.

In an interview with CNET, CTIA spokesman John Walls said the city cannot force retailers to distribute materials that warn consumers about the possible negative effects of cell phone radiation. "You can't compel speech," he said. "Telling retailers to give out that information violates the First Amendment."

The free speech argument is just the latest in a series of … Read more

FCC approves Kyocera Echo, BlackBerry PlayBook

Just like it did last week, the Federal Communications Commission gave the nod to a lot of new cell phones and tablets this week. Among the highlights were Sprint's quirky new Kyocera Echo, the LG Revolution and the RIM BlackBerry PlayBook.

Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past … Read more

iPad 2, Xperia Play clear FCC

Phew! We picked a good week to pick up our semiweekly blogs on the happenings at the Federal Communications Commission. The agency certified a hefty load of big-name devices this week, including the iPad 2 and the HTC Merge. The feds also gave the thumbs up to many of the gadgets we saw last month at Mobile World Congress, including the HTC Desire S, LG Optimus Pad (as well as its G-Slate cousin), and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play. Lastly, we have to consider the Samsung SCH-i510. Though we don't know for sure, it should be the poorly-named Samsung 4G LTE … Read more

Cell phones and health? A debate worth having

If you cover the wireless industry, you're never far from the ongoing debate over whether cell phones are harmful. And the debate usually goes something like this: the scientific community produces a study that explores the issue, and then the wireless industry rushes to interpret that study to its advantage.

Such was the case with a report published yesterday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health found that in healthy volunteer participants, cell phone exposure was associated with increased metabolism of glucose in the region of the brain closest to the … Read more

Top 5 smartphones that won't kill you (as quickly?)

Nobody seems to know if cell phone radiation is harmless or setting up the biggest public health crisis in history. Until that little question is answered, here are five great smartphones that heat your flesh less.

If you want to look up the SAR number of any phone, CNET has that list.

Dell Venue Pro equipped for AT&T passes through FCC

T-Mobile has yet to deliver its Dell Venue Pro Windows Phone 7 handset, but a version of the device for AT&T passed through the Federal Communications Commission this week. We also saw a mess of Samsungs (of course) and the Huawei Ideos, aka the T-Mobile Comet.