Worried about your phone's radiation levels?

We have all heard the debate that has been raging for quite some time now, do cell phones emit radiations that are harmful to us? There is no definitive answer to that question yet, but that hasn't stopped a trio from Israel with coming up with a means of monitoring the radiation that is emitted from your phone. It is called tawkon and it is similar to say a CardioTrainer system that measures the distance you travel and calories you burn.

Believe it or not, this Android app was first developed for the iPhone. Due to non-interest from Apple, the group went back to the drawing board, re-branded themselves and are now out with their app for Android devices. You can download the app from Google Play for free.

Information is transmitted from the cell phone to the base station and vice versa via powerful, high-frequency electromagnetic fields. The level of radiation exposure is greatest when close to its source (the cell phone's antenna) and decreases sharply when further from the phone. What tawkon does is:

1. Tap into the phone's internal measurements such as: network type, band-GSM, UMTS, CDMA, channel, signal strength, phone model etc.
2. Calculate the phone’s radiation level and hence the user exposure - SAR (Specific Absorption Rate, a universal measure for the amount of radiation being absorbed by the user)
3. Provide alerts and suggestions to keep your radiation exposure low

All this works on the fly as you use your phone. You don't have to explicitly turn on the app to get it to work. We tried other similar apps like Cancerblock and Radiation Alert, but tawkon seemed to be the most well thought out and least intrusive app of the bunch. You can even sign up for weekly reports on your usage (or your family's usage - which you can also monitor). In tawkon's own words, Our goal is not to keep you from using your phone, and not even to convince you to cut down talk time. Quite the opposite. We call ourselves tawkon because with the right guidance, you can minimize radiation exposure and… talk on, as you always have...

Sounds good to us.