Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [mobile-phones]

A device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area.

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Do reverse phone lookup services work?

This morning I received a phone call from an unknown caller. I punched the number in Google to see if any hits came up. Unfortunately all I got was the long list of services that show up promising to give you more details on who owns the number if…
n00b
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Does a mobile plugged in to the charger produce more EM radiation?

I've been hearing this a lot lately, but I can't seem to find anything to disprove (or prove) this claim. I know that a weak signal means the phone produces more radiation (which makes sense), but a lot of people I know constantly talk about how…
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Is the loss of (15-21) million mobile users in China in part or partly linked to cover up of COVID-19 numbers?

OP Update: Directionality of skepticism Is the loss of (15-21) million mobile users in China in part or partly linked to cover up of COVID-19 numbers? I am not saying all these are COVID deaths. Maybe some part of it is related/ connected in some…
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Was text messaging originally developed for deaf people?

I just heard this claim in this TED talk by Elise Roy (at about the 5:24 mark in the transcript): Text messaging: that was originally designed for people who are Deaf. Is it true?
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Is it possible to bake a cake with a phone inside, leaving the phone intact?

Recently the following picture has been circulating on some websites on the internet: Imagine this scenario. You drop your phone in the cake batter. The cake bakes. The cake comes out looking great, and you frost it. It looks beautiful. A…
mike glenndale
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Did a Blackberry service outage reduce traffic accident rates in Dubai and Abu Dhabi?

A report from The National has been widely cited on the Internet recently: A dramatic fall in traffic accidents this week has been directly linked to the three-day disruption in BlackBerry services. In Dubai, traffic accidents fell 20 per cent from…
Oddthinking
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Do wifi and cellphones increase the risk of miscarriage?

Over the past few days, a whole bunch of news articles have claimed that WiFi and cellphone signals increase a pregnant woman's miscarriage risk. Some examples: "WiFi and mobile phones could increase pregnant women's risk of miscarriage, study…
user43226
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Does frequent cell phone use reduce the sperm count of men?

Possible Duplicate: Does the presence of a cellphone affect sperm count or heart rate? Is cell phone use harmless or is there a chance that it lowers the sperm count of men? New independent studies offer proof that confirms findings from the …
Christian
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Can ionizing radiation be seen in videos taken on a mobile phone?

This article1, among other things, claims that mobile phones can be used to detect radiation: ... the presence of scintillating pixels – white dots that flashed on and off briefly in the mobile phone videos of the explosion. The CCD imaging sensor…
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Does a mobile phone send signals when it's off?

I've heard that mobile phones send signals to the tower even when the mobile goes off so your location can be detected. Is this possible?
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Do cell phones relay their locations to emergency services?

I just saw this YouTube video warning about the inaccuracy of cell-phones in relating their location to 9-11 dispatchers: while it's true that modern cellphones can relay locations back to your 911 dispatcher, they are often too broad and can have…
UTF-8
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Can cell phones be remotely converted into listening devices?

This is one of the statements of Richard Stallman in his homepage as an explanation of why he doesn't own a cell phone: Cell phones are tracking and surveillance devices. They all enable the phone system to record where the user goes, and many…
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Are mobile phones causing the demise of bees?

So someone I know posted a link to this Inhabitat Blog article on Facebook. Scientists may have found the cause of the world’s sudden dwindling population of bees – and cell phones may be to blame. Research conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland has…
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Can mobile phone cell towers be spoofed in ways that allow interception of calls?

There are multiple forms of evidence that people can spoof cell towers and monitor cells. This Forbes article reports a proof of concept that works for 2G technology. This article from The Register reports a more nuanced expert's view that: False…
William
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Is Tetris by Electronic Arts the best selling video game on mobile?

According to Wikipedia, Tetris by Electronic Arts is the best selling video game ever made. With 100 million downloads, it sold 17.46 million copies more than the next best selling game, Wii Sports on the Nintendo Wii, which sold 82.54 million…
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