2 million additions per day
· More than 500 million 3G subscriptions
· 50 billion connected devices by 2020
This week marked yet another milestone in the internet becoming mobile when the 5 billionth mobile subscription added to the count, largely thanks to emerging markets like India and China.
According to Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) estimates based on industry information, the 5 billionth subscription was added Thursday, July 8.
In the year 2000, about 720 million people had mobile subscriptions, less than the amount of users China alone has today.
Mobile broadband subscriptions are growing at similar pace and are expected to amount to more than 3.4 billion by 2015 (from 360 million in 2009). Studies show that soon 80 percent of all people accessing the internet will be doing so using their mobile device.
For some it's a question of convenience, for others a necessity. Mobile subscriptions allow people who don't have access to a bank or a bank account to transfer money; fishermen and farmers can get quick updates on sudden changes in the weather forecast, villagers to get local medical care, and children to access online education. It facilitates daily operations of small businesses and drives economic growth.
In more mature markets, connected devices rather than people, are driving the increase in network traffic. According to Ericsson's vision we will reach 50 billion connections within this decade.
The communication landscape is changing rapidly and in December of last year, another milestone was reached when the amount of data traffic carried over mobile networks exceeded the amount of traffic generated from voice calls.
Machine-to-machine communications, or M2M, will be a key component in the future growth of the mobile industry. For energy companies it could be smart meters that read themselves, increase business efficiency and cut operational expenses. In transportation - tracking solutions improve route optimization and safety for vehicles on the road. Digital signs that can be updated remotely, cameras that can send pictures halfway around the world and even a soda machine that requests restocking when needed are other examples that machine-to-machine technology make possible.
Showing posts with label Cell Phones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cell Phones. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk
(CNN) -- Radiation from cell phones can possibly cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization. The agency now lists mobile phone use in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.
Before its announcement Tuesday, WHO had assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established.
A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers
"The biggest problem we have is that we know most environmental factors take several decades of exposure before we really see the consequences," said Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Is your cell phone safe?
Dr. Gupta explores cell phone safety
Cell phone use 'possibly carcinogenic'
RELATED TOPICS
• Smartphones
• Consumer Electronics
• Cancer
The type of radiation coming out of a cell phone is called non-ionizing. It is not like an X-ray, but more like a very low-powered microwave oven.
"What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain," Black said. "So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones."
Wireless industry responded to Tuesday's announcement saying it "does not mean cell phones cause cancer." CTIA-The Wireless Association added that WHO researchers "did not conduct any new research, but rather reviewed published studies."
The European Environmental Agency has pushed for more studies, saying cell phones could be as big a public health risk as smoking, asbestos and leaded gasoline. The head of a prominent cancer-research institute at the University of Pittsburgh sent a memo to all employees urging them to limit cell phone use because of a possible risk of cancer.
"When you look at cancer development -- particularly brain cancer -- it takes a long time to develop. I think it is a good idea to give the public some sort of warning that long-term exposure to radiation from your cell phone could possibly cause cancer," said Dr. Henry Lai, research professor in bioengineering at University of Washington who has studied radiation for more than 30 years.
Results from the largest international study on cell phones and cancer was released in 2010. It showed participants in the study who used a cell phone for 10 years or more had doubled the rate of brain glioma, a type of tumor. To date, there have been no long-term studies on the effects of cell phone usage among children.
"Children's skulls and scalps are thinner. So the radiation can penetrate deeper into the brain of children and young adults. Their cells are at a dividing faster rate, so the impact of radiation can be much larger." said Black of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In February, a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, revealed radiation emitted after just 50 minutes on a mobile phone increases the activity in brain cells. The effects of brain activity being artificially stimulated are still unknown.
Neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says Tuesday's announcement, "dealt a blow to those who have long said, 'There is no possible mechanism for cell phones to cause cancer.' By classifying cell phones as a possible carcinogen, they also seem to be tacitly admitting a mechanism could exist."
Manufacturers of many popular cell phones already warn consumers to keep their device away from their body and medical experts say there other ways to minimize cell phone radiation.
The Apple iPhone 4 safety manual says users' radiation exposure should not exceed FCC guidelines: "When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 millimeters (5/8 inch) away from the body."
BlackBerry Bold advises users to "keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 inch (25 millimeters) from your body when the BlackBerry device is transmitting."
The logic behind such recommendations is that the further the phone is from the body, the less radiation is absorbed. Users can also use the speakerphone function or a wired earpiece to gain some distance.
Users can text instead of talk if they want to keep the phone away from their faces.
Finally, cell phones emit the most radiation when they are attempting to connect to cellular towers. A moving phone, or a phone in an area with a weak signal, has to work harder, giving of more radiation. So users can avoid using their cell phones in elevators, buildings and rural areas if they want to reduce their exposure, experts say.
Before its announcement Tuesday, WHO had assured consumers that no adverse health effects had been established.
A team of 31 scientists from 14 countries, including the United States, made the decision after reviewing peer-reviewed studies on cell phone safety. The team found enough evidence to categorize personal exposure as "possibly carcinogenic to humans."
What that means is they found some evidence of increase in glioma and acoustic neuroma brain cancer for mobile phone users, but have not been able to draw conclusions for other types of cancers
"The biggest problem we have is that we know most environmental factors take several decades of exposure before we really see the consequences," said Dr. Keith Black, chairman of neurology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Is your cell phone safe?
Dr. Gupta explores cell phone safety
Cell phone use 'possibly carcinogenic'
RELATED TOPICS
• Smartphones
• Consumer Electronics
• Cancer
The type of radiation coming out of a cell phone is called non-ionizing. It is not like an X-ray, but more like a very low-powered microwave oven.
"What microwave radiation does in most simplistic terms is similar to what happens to food in microwaves, essentially cooking the brain," Black said. "So in addition to leading to a development of cancer and tumors, there could be a whole host of other effects like cognitive memory function, since the memory temporal lobes are where we hold our cell phones."
Wireless industry responded to Tuesday's announcement saying it "does not mean cell phones cause cancer." CTIA-The Wireless Association added that WHO researchers "did not conduct any new research, but rather reviewed published studies."
The European Environmental Agency has pushed for more studies, saying cell phones could be as big a public health risk as smoking, asbestos and leaded gasoline. The head of a prominent cancer-research institute at the University of Pittsburgh sent a memo to all employees urging them to limit cell phone use because of a possible risk of cancer.
"When you look at cancer development -- particularly brain cancer -- it takes a long time to develop. I think it is a good idea to give the public some sort of warning that long-term exposure to radiation from your cell phone could possibly cause cancer," said Dr. Henry Lai, research professor in bioengineering at University of Washington who has studied radiation for more than 30 years.
Results from the largest international study on cell phones and cancer was released in 2010. It showed participants in the study who used a cell phone for 10 years or more had doubled the rate of brain glioma, a type of tumor. To date, there have been no long-term studies on the effects of cell phone usage among children.
"Children's skulls and scalps are thinner. So the radiation can penetrate deeper into the brain of children and young adults. Their cells are at a dividing faster rate, so the impact of radiation can be much larger." said Black of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In February, a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, revealed radiation emitted after just 50 minutes on a mobile phone increases the activity in brain cells. The effects of brain activity being artificially stimulated are still unknown.
Neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta says Tuesday's announcement, "dealt a blow to those who have long said, 'There is no possible mechanism for cell phones to cause cancer.' By classifying cell phones as a possible carcinogen, they also seem to be tacitly admitting a mechanism could exist."
Manufacturers of many popular cell phones already warn consumers to keep their device away from their body and medical experts say there other ways to minimize cell phone radiation.
The Apple iPhone 4 safety manual says users' radiation exposure should not exceed FCC guidelines: "When using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 millimeters (5/8 inch) away from the body."
BlackBerry Bold advises users to "keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 inch (25 millimeters) from your body when the BlackBerry device is transmitting."
The logic behind such recommendations is that the further the phone is from the body, the less radiation is absorbed. Users can also use the speakerphone function or a wired earpiece to gain some distance.
Users can text instead of talk if they want to keep the phone away from their faces.
Finally, cell phones emit the most radiation when they are attempting to connect to cellular towers. A moving phone, or a phone in an area with a weak signal, has to work harder, giving of more radiation. So users can avoid using their cell phones in elevators, buildings and rural areas if they want to reduce their exposure, experts say.
What is a SmartPhone?
The term Smartphone I think has really changed over the years, 3 or 4 years ago a Smartphone was also called a PDA which in essence was just like a regular cell phone with some added capabilities that you may find on a laptop or PC.
Fast-forward four years and a Smartphone is a completely different thing altogether. In fairness some of the main functions of ideas are still there of course but it has now moved from being a phone that's a business person would use into the public domain where everybody can avail of its functionalities.
In essence a Smartphone is just like a mobile computer it will comes with applications like e-mail, Internet access, GPS capabilities, WiFi connectivity and many applications to help you in your day-to-day needs.
We have seen the explosion of available applications for the Apple iPhone. All you need to do is take quick visits to be Apple's application online store and you can see what is available. You can download everything from games to music applications, applications to help you monitor your weight, software to tell you what the weather will be just about everything is available.
We can now see many cell phone manufacturers producing smart phones for the mass market compared to three or four years ago when they were quite expensive. The great thing for us the consumer is that the pricing of these is dropping almost on a monthly basis. If you look at just a couple of years ago you could've paid $600 for a PDA now you can pick up the equivalent with the same ability as a $600 cell phone for less than half the price.
I really think that 2009 will be the year that Smartphone begins to take off, we can already see manufacturers producing more and more on a weekly and monthly basis. The industry expects Smartphone market to be worked about 23% of the overall worldwide cellphone market by 2010.
We have also started to see other manufacturers beginning to roll out their own application source for their phones. This is not just something they are doing for the consumers it is also a massive revenue generator for them.
I reckon in the next few years that Smartphone's will be at least 50% off the market and this is mainly due to technology advancements and more users looking for extra features on their phones for better value. I think the days of the $600 Smartphone are behind us and consumers just expect more and there are value for money. We have already seen the launch of touchscreen Smart phones in Europe for under £100 so it's only a matter of time when we see this type of thing becoming a standard.
Martin Smith is a writer providing advice on ZTE TouchScreen Phone if you have time drop by his site for some tips and information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Smith
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2149500
Fast-forward four years and a Smartphone is a completely different thing altogether. In fairness some of the main functions of ideas are still there of course but it has now moved from being a phone that's a business person would use into the public domain where everybody can avail of its functionalities.
In essence a Smartphone is just like a mobile computer it will comes with applications like e-mail, Internet access, GPS capabilities, WiFi connectivity and many applications to help you in your day-to-day needs.
We have seen the explosion of available applications for the Apple iPhone. All you need to do is take quick visits to be Apple's application online store and you can see what is available. You can download everything from games to music applications, applications to help you monitor your weight, software to tell you what the weather will be just about everything is available.
We can now see many cell phone manufacturers producing smart phones for the mass market compared to three or four years ago when they were quite expensive. The great thing for us the consumer is that the pricing of these is dropping almost on a monthly basis. If you look at just a couple of years ago you could've paid $600 for a PDA now you can pick up the equivalent with the same ability as a $600 cell phone for less than half the price.
I really think that 2009 will be the year that Smartphone begins to take off, we can already see manufacturers producing more and more on a weekly and monthly basis. The industry expects Smartphone market to be worked about 23% of the overall worldwide cellphone market by 2010.
We have also started to see other manufacturers beginning to roll out their own application source for their phones. This is not just something they are doing for the consumers it is also a massive revenue generator for them.
I reckon in the next few years that Smartphone's will be at least 50% off the market and this is mainly due to technology advancements and more users looking for extra features on their phones for better value. I think the days of the $600 Smartphone are behind us and consumers just expect more and there are value for money. We have already seen the launch of touchscreen Smart phones in Europe for under £100 so it's only a matter of time when we see this type of thing becoming a standard.
Martin Smith is a writer providing advice on ZTE TouchScreen Phone if you have time drop by his site for some tips and information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Smith
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2149500
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