I've been using my mobile phone as my work line for some time. But the latest reports on the effects of cell phone radiation have had me thinking that might not be a great idea.
A recent study published by the United Nations' International Agency for Research on Cancer found that people who spent a half-hour or more a day using their cell phones over a period of 10 years had an elevated risk of glioma, the rare and often fatal brain cancer that led to the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy. Considering how much time I've spent on my cell phone, I was starting to reconsider how I use it.
However, there are some simple ways to cut down the risks posed by cell phones. One of them is to use a wired or Bluetooth headset. While Bluetooth also uses radio waves, it's significantly less powerful than the transmissions used to make cell phone connections.
Still, it isn't terribly convenient if you're using your cell phone as a home or work line to have an earpiece stuck in your ear all the time—or be tethered to your phone by a wire. That's where the retro idea of using handsets with your cell phone—like the ones on old-fashioned wired phones—starts making sense.
I've written about a few novelty handsets for cellphones. But I've recently started using a handset that's made to be practical with modern cell phones and smart phones. Native Union's handsets have high-quality speakers and microphones—and reduce the amount of radio wave radiation a cell phone user's head is exposed to by 90 percent.
Called "Moshi Moshi" (named after the Japanese telephone greeting), the line of handsets plugs into most current cell phones' headphone jack directly. For some phones, you'll need to buy an adaptor; there's also a USB adaptor on the way so you can use the headset with Skype, Google Voice and other voice chat programs on your computer.
I've been using the Moshi Moshi 02—a modern-looking curved handset with a weighted base that looks right at home on my desk. It features a button on the inside of the curve of the handset for picking up and hanging up on cell calls. The base comes with a silicone tray to place your phone on to protect it from sliding away on your desk while you dial it or use its other features.
The Moshi Moshi handset is available without a base for about $30, and with a base for about $60. A model that links up over Bluetooth, and a speakerphone that can link to two Bluetooth devices (and has a dedicated iPhone charging dock) are coming soon.