The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro isn't just a pretty face or a very long name. We discovered that it punches well above its weight when it comes down to radiation levels.
The X10 Mini Pro certainly crams plenty of tech into that tiny shell, but it may be releasing a little too much as well. Seeping out of the phone is 1.61W/kg of radiation -- much less than the legal European limit of 2W/kg, but more than is allowed in the US. Check out our snazzy table for the full low-down.
Before you get all hot and bothered though, pause, take a deep breath and continue reading. There is no confirmed link between phone radiation and cancer. There are also no proven long-term side-effects from using mobile phones.
The World Health Organisation recently released its findings, which said using a mobile phone posed an unproven risk of cancer, putting it in the same category as carpentry and coffee drinking. Phone radiation also only affects the area of the body within the vicinity of the electromagnetic field it produces, so a hands-free kit will help to protect your head from the radiation, and also keep your hands free, believe it or not.
If you're a regular train or Tube user, it might be worth your while throwing your phone into airplane mode. When a phone is losing signal, it increases the strength of its connection to maintain your call quality. This means the phone is more likely to reach its maximum SAR levels, increasing your exposure.
Areas of high connectivity, such as towns and cities, will mean a phone doesn't need to work as hard. Taking your phone into the wilderness and trying to make a call with low signal, however, will put the little guy through his paces.
Keeping call time to a minimum also decreases your exposure to radiation. On the plus side, texting and Web surfing doesn't really affect you in any way, as the phone is nowhere near your face.
The phone's official SAR is measured when the phone is operating at maximum. This means real life results will vary, and may never even reach this level. If you want to incorporate this information into your next phone-buying decision, make sure you consult our list.
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Comments 1
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Anonymous 25 June, 2011 20:42
Sorry, but your comment that the phone exceeds the US limit is nonsense, as the US measurement is averaged over 1g of tissue while the EU measurement is averaged over 10g. They're not comparable.
The fact that SAR is a maximum also means very little. Many Samsungs have a SAR less than 0.5W/kg, but how do we know that they're not pumping that out constantly, while this little Sony Ericsson might peak at 1.61W/kg and run along at 0.1W/kg the rest of the time? We don't.
Yes, radiation is possibly bad, but SAR doesn't mean much. Better off limiting your exposure than relying on these figures.
And for what it's worth, some studies have even indicated that a hands free kit directs MORE radiation to your brain, by channeling it. That's how confusing this all is.