Keeping BlackBerry in your pocket could be harmful

MELBOURNE - Keeping that smartphone in your pocket could have harmful health effects, says BlackBerry.

The user guide to the BlackBerry Torch advises using its “approved holster with an integrated belt clip or maintain a distance” of 25mm between the “BlackBerry device and your body while the BlackBerry device is transmitting,” reports News.com.au.

“Use of body-worn accessories, other than RIM-approved holsters with an integrated belt clip, might cause your BlackBerry device to exceed radio frequency (RF) exposure standards. The long-term effects of exceeding RF exposure standards might present a risk of serious harm,” states the user guide.

Meanwhile, Australia’s largest mobile retailer Telstra would publish comparison data on mobiles’ “specific absorption rate” early next year, that would enable consumers analyse phone SAR side by side. (ANI)