I've often wondered if the antenna at the *bottom* of the iPhone was a way to keep radiation slightly further from your brain.

Similarly, I wonder if antennas built in near the earpiece of most phones is better or worse than an external antenna that sticks up just above your ear. The built-in antenna might be safer because it's right against your ear and further from your brian, but it might be stronger to compensate for being built into the phone.

And I'm sure someone will start talking about wedging a bluetooth earpiece right into your ear, despite the fact that bluetooth is much lower-power than a phone transmitter...

@DA360
Yeah but it's funnier to tell as an iPhone joke because if you see an iPhone you KNOW it's on ATT; if you see a BB you don't know for sure.

But I concur, I've been using an iPhone on ATT for 2.5 years and simply do not have carrier problems. And this is in the SF bay area (though I do not live in SF proper and rarely visit).

Come to think of it, never had problems when visiting Manhattan either.

@(Unverified)
... unless the blackberry is on ATT?

I think I'll have to buy a set of the s4i -- but I like the black better than the white.
I have been thru 2 sets of Shure e2s and mostly loved them, but both pair have failed at the stress relief at the plug. One lasted 1 year (replaced under warranty) and the replacements lasted 5 years. I'm just a bit leery of spending the cash again if I know they're gonna fail.

I bought some Sennheiser CX300s for $20 on Amazon 'cause I figured I couldn't lose at that price. They sound great, but tangle incessantly, I don't like the unequal length cord design, and they're damn near impossible to seal in my ears even with the largest tips.

Cool to see the s4i at the $100 pricepoint. Perfect for the gym, travel, and under the motorcycle helmet. I definitely want the volume/track control on the cord, and its nice to have the mic every once in awhile -- a good 'freebie' feature.

gah, just noticed new colors for the s4 AS WELL as the x10i being released. oops.

@BeeQAL
umm, $250 for a new color scheme? Or are you not happy with the sound quality of the s4's?

@cherryboom
yeah but your $23 headphones suck ass, are uncomfortable, and you're still getting raped for them 'cause they cost $0.50 to make. Also they don't block ambient noise on the airplane, and i can't use 'em under a motorcycle helmet.

I hate Verizon, paid the $175 ETF a year into my contract when I jumped ship to get the iPhone, and I'm part of the class-action suit against them.

That said, I think they're entitled to recoup their subsidy fees when you terminate a contract. However, the fee should be somewhat based on reality. The 2-tier system is almost as arbitrary as the flat-rate system. Why not do some basic math to figure out how much of the device the consumer has not yet paid off, slap on a certain % fee on top of that, and call it a day?

This is completely OT, but can someone help me understand the Verizon BB data plans? My GF just bought a BB on Verizon but doesn't need the full unlimited data. However, it has *some* data -- her yahoo mail works; gmail used to work, but it broke and I've read the IMAP implementation is terrible. So I downloaded the GMail mobile 2.0 app, and can connect to her email just fine. But I'm afraid either the download or the mail access is incurring per MB charges. I've googled around a bunch, and forum posts indicate that Verizon has a contract with RIM that says that they CANNOT sell a BB without a BB data plan. But I'm having a hell of a time figuring out what a BB data plan includes and doesn't include. Her web browsing is blocked which is 'nice' -- I'm glad you can't accidentally rack up huge usage bills by web browsing when it's not part of the plan. But I can't figure out if they block *all* data usage that might incur usage fees, or just some.

Verizon's website so far has been pretty useless in terms of making it clear what data is included in the cheapo BB data plan, and what incurs extra fees.

thx.

@mmaestro
Which BB device is it that has the landscape hardware kb?