this article in the Times. We immediately fell in love with the idea, since we take public transportation frequently and find it horribly annoying when someone is yapping while we’re quietly trying to read. If we had a cell phone jammer, we’d be able to create some peace and quiet for us and our fellow commuters. We’d also run the risk of being arrested.
The technology is not new, but overseas exporters of jammers say demand is rising and they are sending hundreds of them a month into the United States — prompting scrutiny from federal regulators and new concern last week from the cellphone industry. The buyers include owners of cafes and hair salons, hoteliers, public speakers, theater operators, bus drivers and, increasingly, commuters on public transportation.It makes sense one one level for these people and industries to want to block cell phone calls. In those instances, they’re a nuisance, and anyone using one at those times is completely neglecting courtesy.
“If anything characterizes the 21st century, it’s our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people,” said James Katz, director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at Rutgers University. “The cellphone talker thinks his rights go above that of people around him, and the jammer thinks his are the more important rights.”That’s spot-on. However, jammers forget two important things, one clearly more important than the other. The first is the discreet talker, the one who lowers his voice and walks away from others to place a needed call. Since jammers overload signal in a certain radius, the discreet caller may be punished for the wrongdoings of a loud talker. The second, more important aspect is law enforcement and other first responders. Jamming cell signals affects them, too, and they could be called to duty at any time. So while jammers create a convenience in one sense, they create potential danger in another. Some how, same way, though, we have to figure out how to make this work on a practical level. Down with bus talkers! Who’s with us? [New York Times]]]>
Posted in Consumer Issues
I know this device is illegal but it could be useful to avoid that annoying people who insists in disturbing our silence… For the ones who also liked the idea, I’ve found a video (http://www.weshow.com/us/p/22051/cell_phone_jammer) that shows some interesting information about cell phone jammers: its functions, how it looks like inside and the best part is an information we all want to know: how effective it is. Hmm… I liked this video, maybe these informations can be useful in the future…
Why is your “right” to read a book more important than the Loud Talker’s right to talk on the Cell Phone. What if Loud Talker had a friend beside him and was still yapping away really loudly? If only there were some way to secretly jam sound waves too! Am I right or am I right?
The simple reason, and this might not be satisfactory to you, is that the book reader is bothering no one (unless he or she has horrible BO or something). The loud talker, whether talking to his friend or on the phone, is a public nuisance. Public transportation is everyone’s space. It’s not required, but it’s nice to be courteous to others.
I agree completely about courtesy in public spaces. I just disagree with the way you’re trying to “combat” discourteous individuals.
It’s sneaky and underhanded! You can attempt to ask the individual to lower their voice. You can buy ear plugs or an mp3 player. You can do what people have been doing for generations and put your book aside and enjoy the conversation. Instead, this device is a way for you to feel empowered by having “your way.”
Let’s not pretend the issue is cell phone conversations. These Loud Talkers can talk at any decibel they like just as easily to flesh and blood people next to them.
hi. i’m a reporter for the las vegas review-journal newspaper and i’m writing a story on cell-phone jammers. i’m chatting with people who have purchased them. i’d like to find out where you use it, and if it works well. since they are illegal to use, i will only use your first name. thanks!
corey levitan
reporter
las Vegas review-journal newspaper
clevitan@reviewjournal.com
702 383 0456
To me its similar to smoking in public areas. Some people refuse to consider other people around them. I call it “in-considerate”. I don’t believe that most of these people can or will change on their own. I must favor the jammers.
I just got my cell phone jammer today. I love it already. I walked down a busy pedestrian street. Some idiot was standing on the sidewalk shouting so loud you could hear him across the street. I turned on my (silent) jammer and in 10 seconds or so he was staring at his phone like he didn’t know what hit him. I turned off all the cell phones in a coffee shop tonight and really enjoyed being able to talk to my friends without them constantly taking calls. Another idiot came in the door shouting on his cell phone and I turned him off. He left in a few minutes!! When you jam them they just look stupidly at their phones and say “I don’t have any bars, do you?” lolol.. they don’t even suspect that they’ve been jammed. I just smile at them pleasantly 🙂 I can’t wait to go to the bookstore tomorrow, and the gas station. You can order jammers from Taiwan, that’s where I got mine!! I LOVE IT!! It’s also fun jamming people driving around talking on their cell phones.