BlackBerry: Keep Our Phones Away From Your Body

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I have used a BlackBerry every day since the middle of 2005, and like most men, I carry the BlackBerry in my pocket. Never thought twice about it, really. Turns out, I am a moron. I should have read the fine print. Here it is, from the BlackBerry website for my Blackberry 9000 phone:

To maintain compliance with FCC, IC, MIC, and EU RF exposure guidelines when you carry the BlackBerry device on your body, use only accessories equipped with an integrated belt clip that are supplied or approved by Research In Motion (RIM). Use of accessories that are not expressly approved by RIM might violate FCC, IC, and EU RF exposure guidelines and might void any warranty applicable to the BlackBerry device. If you do not use a bodyworn accessory equipped with an integrated belt clip supplied or approved by RIM when you carry the BlackBerry device, keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body when the BlackBerry device is transmitting. When using any data feature of the BlackBerry device, with or without a USB cable, hold the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body. If you use a body-worn accessory not supplied by RIM when you carry the BlackBerry device, verify that the accessory does not contain metal and keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body when the BlackBerry device is transmitting. To reduce radio frequency (RF) exposure consider these safety guidelines: . . . Use hands-free operation if it is available and keep the BlackBerry device at least 0.98 in. (25 mm) from your body (including the abdomen of pregnant women and the lower abdomen of teenagers) when the BlackBerry device is turned on and connected to the wireless network. [Bolding, mine.]

Now, I guess one could argue that people like me should read the online user manuals in full when they buy a phone. But it also seems that if a phone company is selling you a phone you cannot safely keep within .98 inches of your own body, they maybe should flag it for you before you get to page 17 of the online user manual. (As best I can tell, the “Getting Started Guide” that I got with my AT&T Phone did not contain this warning. Instead, under a section called, “Carry Your Smartphone,” the manual told me to “always put the smartphone in a holster,” without telling me why.)

So let my idiocy be a lesson to you all: Don’t trust your cell phone companies to actively take care of you. Read the fine print. And if you are a BlackBerry user, take it out of your pocket.