Top 10 lowest radiation emitting cell phones (i.e. least cancer risk)

By | June 03 2011 4:27 PM

Photo: Samsung

10. Samsung SGH-T249 (T-Mobile): 0.63 W/kg

Tied with Motorola i890, Samsung SGH-T249 is ranked as the 10th least radiation emitting cell phone. Spec Data Compact slider phone for voice communication as well as text and instant messaging Compatible with T-Mobile's EDGE data network; access to text/picture messaging 1.3-megapixel camera; Bluetooth stereo music; microSD memory expansion; personal organizer tools Up to 4.5 hours of talk time, up to 312 hours (13 days) of standby time; released in October, 2010

Photo: Motorola

10. Motorola i890 (Sprint): 0.63 W/kg

Tied with Samsung SGH-T249, Motorola i890 is ranked as the 10th least radiation emitting cell phone. Spec Data Talk Time: Up to 3 hours Bands/Modes: 800/900 MHz iDEN Weight: 4.2 ounces/119 grams Dimensions: 3.9 inches x 1.98 inches by 0.66 inches/99 mm x 50.3 mm x 16.8 mm Battery: Standard:1130 mAh lithium ion; Extended: 1750 mAh lithium ion Connectivity: Stereo Bluetooth®4 2.1 (A2DP, HSP, HFP), USB 2.0 Display: 2.2-inch QVGA, 240 x 320, 65K, 16-bit TFT (internal) 1.8-inch, 128 x 160, 65K, 16-bit TFT (external) Messaging: MMS, Unified Inbox, Smart Client Audio: MIDI, WAV, MP3, AAC, ACC+, WMA, AU, REAL, Audio, AMR, iMelody Video: Max (240 X 320); Med (176 x 144); Min (128 x 96) Camera: 2 Megapixel Fixed Focus, 4x digital zoom Memory: 180MB of available user space Location Services: GPS-enabled Antenna: Internal

Photo: Samsung

9. Samsung Gravity T (SGH-T669) (T-Mobile): 0.62 W/kg

Spec Data 3G-enabled quick messaging phone with 2.8-inch customizable touchscreen display and side-sliding QWERTY keyboard Compatible with T-Mobile's 3G network for fast downloads as well as quick uploads of photo and video to sharing sites 2.0-megapixel camera/camcorder; Bluetooth stereo music; microSD memory expansion to 16 GB; organizer tools; personal and work e-mail Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 384 hours (16 days) of standby time; released in July, 2010

Photo: Samsung

8. Samsung Contour (MetroPCS): 0.60 W/kg

Spec Data Screen Size: 2 inches Screen Details: 96-by-96-pixel, passive matrix external LCD; 128-by-160-pixel, 65K color main TFT LCD Camera: Yes Megapixels: 0.3 MP Camera Flash: No 802.11x: No Bluetooth: Yes Web Browser: Yes Form Factor: Flip Phone Network: CDMA Bands: 850, 1900, 1700 High-Speed Data: 1xRTT Storage Capacity (as Tested): 50 MB Keyboard: No Continuous Talk Time: 3 hours 44 minutes

Photo: Samsung

7. Samsung SGH-a197 (AT&T GoPhone): 0.59 W/kg

Spec Data Modes: GSM 850 / 1900 Weight: 2.7 oz (77 g) Dimensions: 3.78" x 1.85" x 0.75" (96 x 47 x 19 mm) Form Factor: Clamshell, Internal Antenna Battery: Talk: 6 hours max. (360 minutes), Standby: 300 hours max. (12.5 days), 800 mAh LiIon Display: Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) Resolution: 128 x 160 pixels, 2" diagonal Platform / OS: (proprietary) Memory: 1 MB (internal memory available to user for storage) Phone Book Capacity: 200 plus SIM card memory

Photo: Samsung

6. Samsung Mesmerize (Galaxy S) (CellularONE, U.S. Cellular): 0.57 W/kg

Spec Data Network: HSUPA 900/1900/2100, EDGE/GPRS 850/900/1800/1900. Samsung Android 2.1 (Eclair). Android Samsung UI (Multiple Homescreens). Processor: 1GHz CPU Speed. Dimension: 64.2 X 122.4 X 9.9 mm (119g) Memory: MicroSD(Up to 32GB). Android Browser: Flash Lite3.1. Display: 4.0? WVGA(480x800) 16M SUPER AMOLED, mDNIe(Mobile Digital Natural Image engine). Multi-touch zoom. Light sensor, Accelerometer sensor, Proximity Sensor, Digital Compass. Camera: 5.0 Megapixel AF camera, Self Shot, Action Shot, Add me, Cartoon Shot, Smile Shot. Video: HD Video Player & Recorder (1280 x 720) @ 30fps codec: DivX, XviD, MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, VC-1 format: 3gp(mp4), AVI(divx), MKV, FLV, H.263Sorenson Music: Music Player with SoundAlive. 3.5mm Ear Jack. MP3/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+/OGG/WMA/AMR-NB/AMR-WB/WAV/MID/AC3/IMY/FLAC/XMF

Photo: Samsung

5. Samsung Fascinate (Verizon Wireless): 0.57 W/kg

Spec Data 3G-enabled, Android 2.1-powered smartphone with 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display and 16 GB pre-loaded microSD card (plus 2 GB internal memory) Google mobile services; VZ Navigator and Bing Maps for directions; can be used as a 3G Mobile Hotspot for up to five Wi-Fi connected devices 5-megapixel camera; 720p HD video recording; Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking; Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity; Swype keyboard Up to 7 hours of talk time, up to 312 hours (13 days) of standby time; released in August, 2010

Photo: Sanyo

4. Sanyo Katana II (Kajeet): 0.55 W/kg

Spec Data Kid-friendly clamshell phone in shiny pink for use with Kajeet pay-as-you-go service Pay for just the minutes you use or choose monthly talk/text plans; optional GPS locator service VGA camera, handsfree communication via speakerphone and Bluetooth, voice dialing capabilities, personal organizer tools Up to 3.5 hours of talk time Daily Access Charge applies only to pay as you go plans

Photo: Pantech

3. Pantech Breeze II (AT&T, AT&T GoPhone): 0.55 W/kg

Spec Data Sleek 3G-enabled flip phone with three Quick Call keys for most frequent callers Compatible with AT&T Video Share, AT&T Mobile Music, and AT&T Navigator GPS turn-by-turn directions 1.3-megapixel camera/camcorder; microSD memory expansion (to 32 GB); Bluetooth stereo music; access to personal e-mail Up to 3 hours of talk time, up to 240 hours (10 days) of standby time

Photo: Casio

2. Casio EXILIM (Verizon Wireless): 0.53 W/kg

Spec Data Modes CDMA 850 / 1900 Weight 4.48 oz (127 g) Dimensions 4.06" x 1.97" x 0.78" (103 x 50 x 19.9 mm) Form Factor Clamshell with twisting display Internal Antenna Battery Talk: 3.8 hours max. (230 minutes) Standby: 540 hours max. (22.5 days) 920 mAh LiIon Display Type: LCD (Color TFT/TFD) Resolution: 240 x 320 pixels (QVGA) 2.3" diagonal Colors: 65,536 (16-bit) Platform / OS (proprietary) Phone Book Capacity 500

Photo: LG

1. LG Quantum (AT&T): 0.35 W/kg

Spec Data 3G-enabled Windows Phone 7 smartphone with 3.5-inch touchscreen and slide-out full QWERTY keyboard Windows Phone 7 OS provides easy access to social networking, personal/corporate e-mail, office apps, Xbox LIVE games, streaming media, and more 5-megapixel camera with HD 720p video capture;16 GB internal memory;Wi-Fi networking;Bluetooth stereo music; GPS for navigation and location services Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 350 hours (14.5 days) of standby time; released in November, 2010

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on the possible carcinogenic effects of cell phones, thereby triggering interest about which cell phones emit the least radiation.

Cell phones emit radio waves, called radiofrequency (RF), which is a form of radiation. The phones themselves aren't necessarily harmful. It's the radiation emitted by the phones that's harmful and more importantly, the amount of radiation that your body absorbs. Specific absorption rate (SAR) is the name given to the rate of radiofrequency energy your body gets from continuous phone usage. The lower the number, the lower the radiation exposure.

However, besides SAR, many other factors can affect the amount of RF waves to which a person is exposed.

American Cancer Society gives specific examples about other causes:

- The amount of time the person is on the phone
- The model of phone being used: different phones give off different amounts of energy
- Whether or not the person is using a hands-free device
- The distance and path to the nearest cell phone tower: being farther away from the tower requires more energy to get a good signal, as does being inside a building
- The amount of cell phone traffic in the area at the time

Other factors may include the distance from the phone to your body. The closer the antenna is to the head, the greater a person's expected exposure to RF energy. Older cell phones, especially analog phones, use more energy than newer digital models.

While there is no decisive evidence that a phone with a higher SAR level poses a greater health risk, consumers are now checking SAR levels before purchasing a new phone in order to reduce radiation exposures.

The Environmental Working Group has compiled a list of major cell phones which measure the SAR levels based on phone manufacturers data from December 2010.

Click on the slideshow to check out the top 10 lowest radiation emitting cell phone models:

Note that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires all cell phone makers to report the SAR level of their products and its maximum SAR level must be less than 1.6 watts per kilogram (W/kg).

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