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MOBILE EXTRAS
COPY
ELECTROMAGNETIC BIOPROTECTION ANTENNA
There's plenty of hard scientific evidence to
show that high and low frequency electromagnetic radiation, of the type emitted
by cellular telephones, can have a measurable effect on biological organisms.
What is not clear is the extent to which it may affect us. Certainly we would
recommend anyone tempted to part with £29 for a Technosphere Electromagnetic
Bioprotection Antenna to have their brains tested…
We'll put the question of whether or not it
works to one side for the moment and consider the value for money factor. The
EBA as we'll call it from now on consists of a small aluminium shell and back plate
with two sticky pads, so you can attach it to your phone. Inside the shell
there are two plastic tubes filled -- so we're told -- with salt water. The
cost of the materials, assuming they're not being individually hand crafted by
grizzled artisans, hewing shells from solid chunks of aluminium with kitchen
knives, comes to about tuppence!
So how does it work? We have to say the
theory of operation left us a tad puzzled. According to the supplied literature
the idea is the 'paramagnetic aqueous saline solution' (i.e. the salt water)
'has been treated electromagnetically and emits a constant low intensity
magnetic oscillation, that on a biological level, re-harmonises the
disturbances responsible for the health problems'. It goes on to say that the
theory overturns some of the classical laws of physics (they got that bit right…)
and quotes studies carried out by the Montpellier University in France.
However, much of it is either too complicated for us to understand or plain old
gobbledegook…
Nevertheless, in a spirit of open-mindedness
we duly stuck the gizmo on the back of a phone and used it for a couple of
days. That wasn't really long enough to tell whether or not its soothing rays
did us any good, but it did give us a chance to see if it had any impact on
phone performance. We're very pleased to report that range, transmission,
reception quality, and line contact reliability were all totally unaffected by
it.
The cell phones accessory market has thrown
up its fair share of wacky gadgets and snake-oil remedies but this one is a
classic. We can't say there's nothing in it, and the fact that we could find no
trace of this research, or any reference to the learned Prof mentioned, on the
University of Montpellier Web site is neither here nor there. But we have to
admit to being just a teensy bit sceptical…
THE FACTS
Typical Price £29
Features magnetic
oscillator for mobile phones, including dual frequency models
To fit all makes and models
Contact Marketex,
telephone (01227) 831601
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 10%
WILLIAMS F1 MOBILE PHONE HOLDER
Its not often we get to test officially
licensed Formula 1 products but that's the proud boast of this Williams F1
Mobile Phone Holder. Actually it's a magnet, and a powerful one at that, which
sticks to the dashboard of your car and holds your phone in place, whilst
you're driving. That's the idea anyway,
The disc comes with a pad of double-sided
sticky tape on one side and there's a little foam cushion on the other, to
protect your phone. It couldn't be any simpler to fit, and by the looks of it,
it's built to last, but then there's not much that can go wrong with a magnet.
We found that one or two of the heavier phones simply wouldn't stick; others,
like the chubby Ericsson fell off on bumpy roads, but handsets with a
reasonably flat backside or battery pack tended to stay in place. Seven quid is
on the high side for a magnet, even a fancy one like this but there's the
undeniable Formula 1 cachet… To be fair it is a lot easier to install than a
traditional phone holder but be warned that it doesn't work with all makes and
models, so try before you buy.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £6.99
Features magnetic
phone holder for cars
To fit most makes and models
Contact Nett
Ltd., telephone (01273) 732464
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 85%
TOADIE UNIVERSAL CASES
Slipping into something tight and revealing
takes on a whole new meaning with these 'Toadie' Universal phone cases from The
Accessory People. They're made from brightly coloured and patterned neoprene.
It's a bit like the stuff they use for wet suits and swimming cozzies, but
without the waterproofing. There are a couple of holes in one end, for the neck
strap and the aerial to poke through. We found it fitted most handsets without
too much trouble, though it can be a bit of a struggle on some older models.
The material feels strong and sounds pass through it easily, so it doesn't
matter if the earphone, microphone and ringer holes are covered. The finish is
good and the design has been well thought out and the display and keyboard
remained accessible on all of the phones we tried it with.
The material is quite thin so it only offers
a modicum of protection to the phone, but the strap is strong, and adjustable,
so it should be quite secure. It's fun, sort of practical and trendy -- great for the beach and nightlife -- but it's not up to getting wet and you
might get some odd looks if you wear it in the office
THE FACTS
Typical Price £9.99
Features elasticated
construction, one size fits all, adjustable neck/wrist strap (5-colours),
To fit most makes and models
Contact The
Accessory People Ltd., telephone 0181-541 5555
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 85%
JABRA EARSET
Remember what your mum used to say about
shoving strange objects in your ear? Well forget all that and take a look at
the Jabra EarSet, objects don't come much stranger… It's a combined microphone
and earphone (Jabra call it a 'speaker') but there's no extension tubes of
booms, it's all built into one tiny module.
That's fairly unusual, but the really weird bit is the coloured EarGel.
The outfit comes with six of them, small, medium and large for the left and
right ear. If you're wondering why they've used soft washable gel, instead of
foam rubber, well consider this. The gel material is actually more comfy than
scratchy foam, and the shape means it fit in the outer ear, so you don't have
to poke it in the delicate ear canal, which also means it doesn’t cut out
extraneous sounds, and because the gels are washable, it's more hygienic.
The big question though has to be, is it
comfortable? Well, yes it is, which comes as a bit of a surprise. The knobbly
shape makes it look more like an instrument of torture, and you would think our
ears are all different shapes, but apparently not. Three out of four of our
test subjects reported a snug, comfy fit, the fourth was unsure. The spiky bit
makes sure it doesn't drop out, even when you shake your head, and there's a
slot cut into the gel, which allows outside sounds to get through. Various plug
options are available, so it's available to fit most makes and models. The
makers also suggest it can be used with a PC sound system, however, our sample
was kitted out for an Ericsson phone.
But what about the microphone, surely it
can't be much good at picking up the user's voice, stuck in their ear? Surprise
number two, it does pick up the voice satisfactorily, though inevitably it also
picks up any other sounds in the vicinity and we found callers asked you to
speak up when there was a lot of ambient noise. The earphone or speaker is
fairly loud and quite trebly which is good for speech. EarSet works a lot
better than it looks; maybe if the gels weren't quite so brightly coloured it
wouldn't look so strange. If you can put up with that (you won't be able to see
it …) the performance is good enough to make it worth a try, and a welcome
alternative to conventional headsets.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £40
Features one-piece
in-ear microphone and speaker with moulded gel insert
To fit most makes and models
Contact Mobile
Marketing, telephone (01923) 690900
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 88%
ALLGON SPUTNIK, MINIMAG & COUPLER
There are two parts to an antenna, the
radiating element, and the groundplane. The radiator is the obvious sticking
out bit, the groundplane is not so obvious, it's the metalwork of a car body,
or the Earth itself. Antenna efficiency takes a dive when there's no
groundplane, and that is precisely what happens when you try to use a cellphone
antenna designed for a metal bodied car, indoors or on a boat or
glassfibre-bodied vehicle. That's the problem addressed by the Allgon Sputnik,
designed to be used with Allgon's range of Minimag antennas. Just for good
measure we've also been trying it with a coupler, intended for the Nokia 6110.
The Sputnik certainly lives up to its
name. The two radiating elements coming
out of the side are the actual groundplane; they're connected to a round metal disc
that's moulded onto a rubber sucker. You don’t need any instructions to figure
it out, the Minimag clamps to the metal disc and the cable plugs into your
phone -- via the adaptor.
The tests were simple, without moving
location we made and received a number of calls using the cellphone's built-in
antenna, then we tried it with the Minimag on a car, and finally on the
Sputnik, attached to a window. Call quality improved noticeably when using the
Minimag on a car, signal strength shot up by a couple of bars, and stayed
there, compared with the phone's own antenna. Swapping to the Sputnik yielded a
similar improvement, though the increase in signal strength tended to dither
between one and two bars. It was good result and it could make the difference
between a reliable and dropped call, especially in tricky situations, in
marginal signal areas, such as an office, or maybe on a moving train. Worth
considering if you regularly encounter difficulties.
THE FACTS
Typical Price £47
Features portable
ground-plane and coupler
To fit most makes and models
Contact Fone
Logistics, telephone (01670) 717717
WHAT CELLPHONE VERDICT 88%
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Ó R. Maybury 1998 1507
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