Nokia study on digital convergence

On June 6th, Nokia has released the results of a global study they did to find out what else consumers do with their cell phone. This study allows them to get a feel of the future of what they call ‘digital convergence’.

According to the study commissioned by Nokia, 44% of camera phone owners use their cell phone as their main digital camera. This number somewhat contradicts the results of the poll Lifehacker did: 83.4% of Lifehacker’s readers are not using their phone as their main digital camera or prefer to use their digital camera instead.

The study also reveals that 66% of the respondents think their cell phone will eventually replace their portable MP3 player, and 50% think their mobile phone will allow them to interact with their home electronics.

If we compare web browsing between USA and Japan, 36% of the respondents in the US said they were using their phone to browse the web monthly, while in Japan 36% of the respondents use their phone to browse the web daily. My opinion on this matter goes the same way as the Nokia Cell Phone Blog: I don’t know how it goes for Japan, but one of the reasons I don’t browse the web from my cell phone is because of the costs involved to transfer data with my carrier. With Bell Canada, we are talking over $20 for 1MB of data transferred, this is ridiculous.

In my opinion, digital convergence is a good thing. However, if all your devices are combined into one, you’re not able to change just the camera. You have to change the whole cell phone, including all the other integrated devices, which costs you more and isn’t really necessary if you are already satisfied with them.

Source: The latest Nokia news tidbits, studies, you name it

CNET’s Quick guide has a list of the ten highest radiation cell phones and the ten lowest radiation cell phones. The radiation level is expressed in SAR, Specific Absorption Rate. It is the amount of radiofrequency energy absorbed by the body when using a mobile phone.

Top Ten Highest-Radiation Cell Phones

1. (SAR: 1.58) Motorola SLVR L6
2. (SAR: 1.55) Motorola V120c
3. (SAR: 1.55) Motorola V265
4. (SAR: 1.54) Motorola V70
5. (SAR: 1.53) Motorola C290
6. (SAR: 1.53) Motorola P8767
7. (SAR: 1.53) Motorola ST7868
8. (SAR: 1.53) Motorola ST7868W
9. (SAR: 1.51) Motorola A845
10. (SAR: 1.51) Palm Treo 650 GSM
11. (SAR: 1.51) Panasonic Allure

As you can see, Motorola dominates the top ten of the highest-radiation cell phones.

Top Ten Lowest-Radiation Cell Phones

1. (SAR: 0.120) Audiovox PPC66001
2. (SAR: 0.200) Motorola MPx200
3. (SAR: 0.220) Motorola Timeport L7089
4. (SAR: 0.263) Qualcomm pdQ-1900
5. (SAR: 0.276) T-Mobile Sidekick
6. (SAR: 0.296) Samsung SGH-S100
7. (SAR: 0.296) Samsung SGH-S105
8. (SAR: 0.310) Sony Ericsson Z600
9. (SAR: 0.320) Mitsubishi G360
10. (SAR: 0.330) Siemens S40

It is interesting to see the huge gap in radiations emitted between the two categories. Having a higher SAR level does not mean the phone is unsafe - all phones must pass FCC regulations before being approved in the US.

I looked at reviews of the Audiovox PPC66001, and while it emits very few radiations, the reception appears to be quite poor. On the other hand, reviews of the Motorola SLVR L6 show that the phone’s reception is quite good in general. We could probably establish a direct correlation between emission levels and reception quality.

TG Daily has an article on cellular games. They talked to the developers of “24″, a game from the popular TV show. Being a game programmer myself, here are some facts from the article I’ve found interesting:

1. Development time is typically between 7 and 9 months - With about 1/3 for development time, and 2/3 for adapting the game to run on the various cellular phones out there. A cell phone game has to be converted into 1000 unique builds to support more than 100 carriers around the world!
2. The average game weights around 150 kilobytes - In order to achieve this, developers often have to cut down on game content to make the game fit on cell phones with less memory, sometimes offering low-end versions of the game featuring less gameplay.
3. Small screen size - Game creators must create the gameplay on a very small screen, when compared to console video games.
4. Typical cellular games cost around $5 - The games are usually downloaded through your provider’s interface, meaning you can’t just go to EB Games and buy a copy of your favorite game; you have to wait for your provider to offer it.
5. A typical cellular game costs between $200000 and $500000 to make - A XBox360 or Playstation3 game is reported to cost between 10 and 25 million to make.

“According to a new research from Jabra, a leading brand of hands-free communication products for the mobile consumer market, regular mobile phone usage is having an adverse effect on the health of the UK’s under 25s.

The research, carried out in conjunction with independent research organization, TNS, question 1,008 adults aged 16+ and found that 78% of mobile phone users, aged between 16-24, reported backache, neckache and headaches, which experts say can be a direct result of holding your mobile phone between your ear and neck while trying to do other tasks simultaneously.

The statistics show that over 18% of 16-24 year olds regularly make and receive more than 600 minutes worth of calls per month on their mobile phone, talking to friends, family and colleagues. This has resulted in 88% of those interviewed having to multi-task while on the phone, in order to be more efficient and make the most of their time.

32% of those surveyed stated that shopping was the main activity that they did while on their mobile phone. 28% said that they regularly used a computer while on their mobile phone. A further 20% stated that they did housework while talking. An additional 20% cook and 17% drive. Doing all these activities properly involves users having both hands free, which can only be achieved by users holding their mobile between their neck and shoulder.

“With people working longer hours than ever before, we have to efficiently manage our time and successfully juggle home and work lives,” said Andrew Doyle, Country Manager, Jabra UK and Ireland. “But, it is clear that there is a worrying trend amongst under 25s to incorrectly hold their mobile phones in order to do two things at once, leading to neck and shoulder pain and discomfort. Through simply using a wireless Bluetooth headset, mobile phone users can continue to multitask safely, without doing themselves any long-term damage.”"

With all the nice handsfree headsets for cellular phones nowadays, including the Bluetooth ones, I’d have thought these health problems would affect only a minority of people…

From Regular Cellphone Usage Affecting the Health of the UK’s Under 25s