Whenever we plan to buy a new cell phone we find a lot of cheap mobile phones promising to offer better features than the most popular phones available on the market at a fraction of their price. The bargain price is often too lucrative for users resulting in the purchase of cheap cell phones. However, the reason why cell phones from major brands come at a high cost is because they include good quality hardware and accessories, which most often is missing in cheap cell phones. The bargain, no matter how attractive it might sound, could become a recipe for disaster if the cell phone comes with low quality chipsets and batteries. So are you really risking your life while saving a few bucks and purchasing a cheap cell phone? We think the answer to this question could possibly be yes. Read on for the reasons:
Low quality hardware: The best quality cell phones made by the most popular brands in the industry, come with chipsets, processors, batteries, and displays that are either made by the cell phone manufacturer itself or are sourced from trusted companies after a strict safety check. That’s the reason these phones cost a lot more than comparable phones offered for a bargain. The low quality hardware used in cheap cell phones not only jeopardizes the device but can also put the user at risk. There have been several instances where batteries of cheap cell phone have blown and caused injury to the user.
High Specific Absorption Rate (SAR): We all know that cell phones work on radio frequency electromagnetic field, which really isn’t quite good for our bodies, if we’re heavily exposed to them. Good quality cell phones normally come with a SAR rating that is well below the recommended FDA levels of 1.6W per kilogram of body weight. On the other hand, cheap cell phone manufacturers don’t normally try to regulate this rating and ship cell phones with not many SAR reducing features. Several controversial researches have shown that absorption of high levels of radiation from cell phones can possibly be carcinogenic and could also lead to brain tumors. While the science fraternity is debating on the effects of cellular radiation, it’s always better to be on the safer side.
Low quality accessories: Just like the hardware inside a cheap cell phone, the accessories shipped with it don’t exactly use the best in technology. Manufacturers of cheap cell phones try to replicate the technology used in high-end cell phones while sacrificing on quality. The end results are products that do look good, but on the inside lack any safety features. The problem aggravates with the use of accessories such as headphones, which don’t follow the recommended guidelines and are made to produce the most thumping sounds. Such headphones or earphones if used for a long time can cause hypertension and can even permanently damage the ear drum.
Low security features: According to international regulations, every mobile device should ship with a unique International Mobile Equipment Identity number (IMEI). This number is actually a code that carries detailed information about the cell phone. The information is relayed to the cell phone service provider as soon as cell phone is first activated. Cheap cell phones don’t really follow the rules and are mostly shipped without any IMEI number. Though, cell phones without IMEI numbers are not directly related to health issues, however, the information provided by the IMEI number can help track lost and stolen cell phones. Moreover, intelligence agencies can get useful information about terrorist activities by scanning IMEI numbers of cell phones reportedly used by terrorists.
