Latest Health Risk

Mobile phones may or may not increase your risk of brain cancer, but one medical study shows they pose another health risk: eye strain from trying to read text on tiny screens, especially for smart phone and PDA users. Consequently, reports the Wall Street Journal, some tech companies are studying ways to make text on smart phone and handhelds more "readable".

Microsoft, for instance, has developed fonts like "Frutiger Linotype" for handhelds, as well as ClearType, a technology which increases the sharpness of text displays and smoothes out the edges of the characters.

Meanwhile, device manufacturers like Palm are using transflective screens that reflect natural light in addition to using a backlight.

Of course, there are non-technological solutions to avoid eye strain. Optometrist Ellise Briso recommends avoiding long periods of use and taking frequent breaks, "looking away from the screen, and into the distance for about 20 seconds every 20 minutes".