Sony Ericsson T280

2008-03-03T15:02:00.000-08:00

Just last January, mobile phone giant Sony Ericsson has announced the launch of two new sleek and stylish additions to its line of cellular phone models – the Sony Ericsson T270 and T280, to be available during the first quarter of 2008. Largely based on the highly successful T610, the two new handsets has got both style and uncompromising functionality which boasts of a great number of features the targeted business class consumer will definitley look for.

Now, Sony Ericsson has consistently put out unit after unit of well received handsets for quite some time already and with the T270 and T280, it looks like they are bent on solidifying their mark in the cell phone industry. Both units share a lot of similar functions though each with a definite target market in mind, with the T280 serving as the big brother between the two when it comes to features and capabilities. It is in that light the it would be the sensible thing to take a more intimate and closer look at the Sony Ericsson T280.

Sony Ericsson T280 Camera and Display

The T280's brushed metal finish houses a 1.3 mega pixel camera with 4x digital zoom. A definite upgrade from previous models of Sony Ericsson housing VGA cameras. That being said however, a 1.3 mega pixel camera is still a little bit behind compared to the cameras of recent mobile phones from its competing brands. But images taken with the T280 still come out clear enough even when printed on standard photo papers at 3 inches x 4 inches. And if you choose to view your shots without having to print, you may do so without hitches, thanks to the T280's 1.7 inch TFT screen displaying up to 65K colors at 128 x 160 pixels. And what's more, the T280 lets you take pictures that you can send to your friends via the phone's Bluetooth support.

Moving your way through the T280's menu is effortless because of its navigation key and the available shortcuts. And texting couldn't be easier with the predictive text input technology which is an intelligent software wherein typing words on a mobile phone is made easier. This is achieved with the phone utilizing a large database of words so everytime you start typing, the phone guesses the word you are trying to encode. This is very useful especially for a phone designed for the businessman on the go.

Sony Ericsson T280 Design and Accessories

Design has always been Sony Ericsson's greatest appeal. And the T280 is definitely a phone you could stare at with great pleasure. It's color combination of silver on black and copper on silver, available for both the T270 and T280, gives off a sense of warmth and maturity. But do not get these units wrong. They are not all about serious business though, as like it's targeted audience, these phones know how to be fun. With capabilities of MP3 and having a built in FM radio, the T280 is capable of using MP3 playback of tunes in your playlist as its ringtone. The provided ear buds does not sound so bad either as is the pitfall of most MP3 capable cell phones. But the good thing about this unit is that in case you find the headphone's sound still leaving a lot to be desired, you may use your existing headphones with a 1.5 inch stereo jack. Or if not, the T280 has built in stereo speakers that although does not sound all that well, is a rather enjoyable experience.

Your tunes, images, videos and other files all share residence in the T280's built in phone memory space of just a miniscule 10 mega bytes. That is not much and the phone's internal memory can easliy be filled up. It has no slot for when you want to expand the phone's memory slot so you must choose what you want to bring with very well.

So, with the possibilty of making your T280 double as a portable media player virtually impossible, it does have a lot of charm and functions to help you while away the time. So fret not, for there is of course the built in stereo FM tuner which provides excellent and clear radio signal.

Other must have features for phone targeted at the business man like a calculator, phone book, tasks manager and calculator is rightfully present. And if you are up for a little bit of fun after all that work, the Sony Ericsson T280 is able to play downloaded games.

Summary of Sony Ericsson T280 Features

Weight: 82 g
Width: 45 mm
Height: 100 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Network: 2G Network (GSM 900 / 1800 - T280i) (GSM 900 / 1800 - T280i)
Screen Resolution: 128 x 160 pixels, 1.7 inches, TFT, 65K colors
Data: ----
Connectivity: Bluetooth, USB V2.0
Web Browser: WAP 2.0, XHTML
Music: MP3, FM radio RDS
Camera: 1.3 MP, 1280 x 1024 pixels
Messaging: SMS, MMS
Expansion Slot: None
Tones: Polyphonic
Software Features: ----
Other Features: ----
Battery: Standard battery, Li-Po 780 mAh (BST-36), Standby time Up to 300 hours, Talk time Up to 7 hours

PROS: Excellent design with a nice brushed metal finish. Long talk time of up to 7 hours. Bluetooth and USB connectivity, Predictive Text Input

CONS: No memory expansion slot. Very little phone memory space

Overall: All in all, with the Sony Ericsson's shortcomings aside, the T280 packs a great package for those who want a no frills approach to their mobile experience.

According to Studies Cell Phone Radiation Affects Living Tissue

2008-02-27T11:06:00.000-08:00

Living tissue responds to cell phone radiation, according to a new study by the Finnish Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). While earlier studies have shown that cell phone radiation alters protein expression and activity in human endothelial cell line, STUK's new study for the first time has examined whether radiation will cause changes in protein expression in living people.

In the study, a small area of forearm's skin in 10 volunteers was exposed to GSM signal for one hour. After that skin biopsies were collected from exposed and non-exposed areas of skin and all extractable proteins were examined. The analysis of 580 proteins identified 8 proteins that were statistically significantly affected.

"Mobile phone radiation has some biological effect. Even if the changes are small, they still exist", says Dariusz Leszczynski, Research Professor at STUK.

According to Leszczynski it is much too early to say will these changes induced by the cell phone radiation have any effect on health.

"The aim of this project was not detecting any possible health effects, but to find out whether living human skin responds to mobile phone radiation and whether proteomics approach is useful in sorting out this issue", he states.

A more extensive study with 50-100 volunteers is now planned at STUK. The new study is expected to begin in 2009.

Funding for the present study was provided by Tekes - Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation and STUK, and it was a part of national HERMO project (Health Risk Assessment of Mobile Communications) finished in September 2007.

Welcome to Gadget Goy

2008-02-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

Gadget Goy is a blog about gadgets that I take interest in. If you want any gadget to be featured here, please drop me a message and I will do everything that I can to feature it.