Cell phones – not just for calling anymore
Ryan Schulte has a cell phone most college students would crave.
“I have pretty much everything you can get,” the Saginaw senior said.
Schulte’s cell phone is equipped with a Blackberry Messenger, Internet access, comprehensive calendar and many other features.
Still, Schulte’s phone lacks a camera or MP3 player, and he wouldn’t mind upgrading to a device with even more powerful features.
“I would like to get the one that has the Palm (Pilot), the Treo, because that one’s got video,” he said.
Today, college students use cell phones for more than just making calls.
The demand for cell phones with more features is increasing among younger buyers.
William Hurdman, wireless consultant for Alltel Communications, 1015 E. Pickard St., finds younger buyers in the store often are interested in more features.
“They all usually seem to want all the ringtones, the text messaging and the MP3 player,” he said.
Hurdman has his own idea for why students want cell phones with text messaging.
“Probably so they can use it in class and get away with it,” he said.
Tony Smith, owner of Global Wireless, 711 E. Bellows St., finds many college-aged buyers are interested in camera phones.
“They like to take pictures and send them to friends,” he said.
Presque Isle senior Jennifer Lamb said she mainly uses her cell phone for making calls, but she’s interested in other features.
“I would like (my cell phone) set up so I could send text messages and use actual songs as ringtones,” Lamb said.
Still, not every college-aged cell phone user wants all the extra features.
“They’re not really necessary,” said Clarkston junior Caitlin Johnston. “A cell phone with a PDA is ridiculous.”
Despite having a camera and Internet access on her phone, she only uses it for the alarm clock and making calls.
“I don’t use the Internet on my phone,” Johnston said. “I don’t even know how it works.”
Cell phones are useless when they are not able to fulfill their primary purpose, which is making calls, she said.
“Service is more important to me than any of the features,” Johnston said.
Text messaging may actually have health benefits if it keeps students from talking for long hours on their cell phones.
A study published last week showed a significant correlation between heavy cell phone usage and brain cancer.
The Swedish National Institute for Working Life found a 240 percent increased risk of a cancerous tumor on the side of the head where the cell phone is used for patients who constantly use their wireless phones, according to a recent Reuters article.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said these results contradict prior studies, but the agency plans evaluating the study and pursuing further research.
Gary Dunbar, psychology professor, said the results are not reason to panic. They should, however, raise some concern among students.
“I don’t know of any really strong evidence that has linked (cell phones with brain cancer),” he said. “But if this is a well-constructed study and pretty conclusive, then it might be a worry.”
Dunbar said the short-term effects of wireless phone usage seem to be negligible.
“If there was an immediate threat, I think we’d see a high amount of incidents already,” he said.
However, Dunbar cautioned students against long-term use of cell phones.
“We know long-term exposure to microwaves is not healthy for any living animal – including humans,” he said. “We have to be careful with how we use anything long-term.”
