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Cell Phone On A Chip
sebFlyte writes "Texas Instruments have developed a new chip for mobiles that, according to some, should make is possible to make a cell phone for less than $25, bringing it into the realm of possibilities for low-level corporate giveaways, or a reasonable loss leader for getting people started on pay-as-you go mobile offerings."
There are some really good, new-technology phones out there that aren't filled with every "me-to" gadget. I got tired of the junk in my Nokia 3650, so the phone after that was an LG4400 (I think that was the model #). It has flawless voice quality, no camera, no web browsing, no Java. It does have text messaging, a modern color display, etc., but it's "just a phone."
You can get a non-contract mobile for 19.99 (that's 35$ approx)
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http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002K78
Don't they already give away phones, and have pay as you go services? We don't need a $25 chip for that.
Not that cell phone capabilities on inexpensive chips isn't welcomed, but your pitch seems a little skewed. I'm not very excited about new technologies that will let me do what has already been going on for years (which is why the Media PC is such a non-event). Dream a little about the possibilities of new technology! How about Spooner's phone from I, Robot? "Hey, cool bluetooth earpiece!", "No, that's my whole phone!" Or maybe Steve Jobs will decide to add this into the next iPod version. Now that's a little more exciting.
Zinc is pretty harmless, and is actually necessary for life. It has important roles in the active sites of many enzymes that are vital. So it is very safe and this seems to be a bit of overzeolous reporting.
Cadmium and lead are dangerous as they do not have a biochemical function, and until resently exposure to high levels of them was unusual, so there are no biochemical or fast geochemical mechanisms to deal with these in the environment.
Arsenic is in between, as their are some rare organism that utilise arsenic for some purposes. It is generally not as bioaccumalative as Cadmium or lead, but it is still very dangerous in high enough concentrations.
"I was an early adopter of cellphones, my first was the old flip phone."
No, no, no. I was an "early adopter" of cell phones. Mine was the size fo a VCR and came with its own handy carrying case that was bigger than my wife's purse.
Back to your point though, most cellular contracts have a backout period. I know I had 15 days with Nextel to bring my phones back if I wanted to back out of the contract. Seeing as Nextel didn't pick up at my house, I dropped them and went to Cingular within that timeframe. The Nextel salesman did tell me that I couldn't do that, but I calmly pointed out where it was written in the contract and after some arguing he gave in and cancelled our contracts. It might already be too late for you, but check your contract and see if you have a way to back out.