Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Magnets will do no harm whatsover to your Kindle.
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Wow. That's a pretty blanket statement to make there Harry especially considering you're absolutely wrong.
The term for what the magnets can do is Electro Magnetic Interference or EMI.
Magnets can and do interfere with cellphones. The Kindle has a cellphone radio in it.
While the magnets jamming the cellphone in the Kindle won't make anyone miss an important call they can raise the noise level for the radio causing it to pour on more power to reach the network clearly.
More power means a shorter time until it must be re-charged. A Kindle battery only has so many charge cycles in it before it must be replaced.
So if hauling your Kindle around next to magnets results in your Kindle needing a new battery earlier than otherwise? I call that harm Harry.
If you are worried about SAR, the impact of absorption of the radio waves on your body, having your Kindle broadcasting at a higher power level means more SAR. So magnets could lead to higher levels of absorbed radio power by your body. Not technically harm for the Kindle but if you are genetically pre-disposed to certain types of cancer you might not want that.
And of course if you were hauling your Kindle around expecting a Mobileread blog update to be delivered and it didn't come in due to EMI... well the horror can't be measured.
My background.
I've designed handheld portable computers and nursed them through FCC trials. Part of the point to those tests is to investigate EMI. Both EMI to the unit and EMI caused by the unit. During the testing you actually measure the impact of things such as magnetic fields being placed near various points of the unit.
Funny this comes up because...
The original Kindle was going to have a magnetically attached reading light until testing revealed the radio interference this caused and they nixed the magnetically attached reading light. Probably discovered during the FCC trials. :-)
My advice to friends and loved ones...
Blackberry uses magnets in their belt holsters. This is generally given as a "myth buster" when the topic of "Does a magnet impact my cellphone" comes up. However, Blackberry uses flat sheet magnets which are essentially plastic magnets. They are low power and use their large surface area to hold the holster flap closed. Also keep in mind that the Blackberries are
designed knowing
exactly where those magnets will be placed.
Anyway that's what I recommend: get purses etc that use flat sheet magnets. Not things that use those button sized rare earth "will hold your body weight or your money back" magnets.
Personally I prefer velcro myself and save my cancer risks up for things like bacon.
Also, EMI clears up with distance, it isn't a permanent effect. So the purse designer that carried her phone around with magnets in her purse will find her phone working quite well after taking it out of her purse. If she missed any calls due to EMI I'm sure she just chalked it up to her !@#$ cellphone carrier.