The iPhone can do just about everything… except tell you how much radiation it’s emitting at any given time. And Steve Jobs is making sure it stays that way.
Israeli company Tawkon has created an app that “shows when you’re OK to talk and how to minimize your exposure to phone radiation just when you need to.” But it was personally blocked by Apple’s head honcho: In an email to the company, Jobs simply replied: “No interest.” Tawkon went ahead and released the app for free through Cydia, for jailbroken iPhones, on Wednesday.
According to a 2009 safety report, cell phones release more radiation when they are searching for wireless signals. Rewind just a couple of months, and it’s not hard to recall the infamous “antennagate,” issue when some users of the then-brand new iPhone 4 experienced difficulties getting reception because their hand blocked the antenna.
So for those of you keeping score: Trying to get a signal on your phone releases more radiation. Apple already underwent a firestorm for the iPhone 4’s reception problems. A new app measures emitted radiation from mobile phones in real time. Apple quickly makes sure it’s not available to all users in the iTunes store.
Even more intriguing is that, according to CEO and co-founder of Tawkon, Gil Friedlander, the company was having “encouraging discussions” with iPhone executives, and received “generous compliments” about the app’s functionality and appeal. Yet the app was still blocked without any explanation, other than two words.
Tawkon isn’t backing down, though. “We believe it is every phone user’s fundamental right to know the level of radiation they’re exposed to, and to take precautionary measure if they see fit,” said Friendlander.
In addition to the jailbreak version of the app, the company has set up a petition for iPhone users to support tawkon and get it available in the App Store.
Tawkon is already available for both BlackBerry and Android devices.
