Tech Blog

[#1]

The commercial for HTC 's phones has a great line about our phones being the only thing that's with us everywhere.

You change your clothes, shoes, underwear, jewelry .. the only constant and consistent accessory is your phone.  It's in your pocket on the bus, on your bedside table when you sleep, in your purse at work, in your hands at the club.

It goes with us everywhere.

So imagine what's on that phone.  The germs, dirt, grime, bacteria and more.  A recently released report did some legwork, testing phones to find out exactly what we're touching when we're touching our phone.

Out of the 30 phones, seven were classified as dirty, i.e., they had high levels of environmental bacteria.

They had alarmingly high levels of environmental bacteria, which can be highly injurious to humans. One of them even contained faecal coliforms, which can pose serious stomach problems to its user.

"The levels of potentially harmful bacteria on one mobile were off the scale," said UK hygiene expert Jim Francis. "That phone needs sterilising."

It contained almost ten times the acceptable level of TVC, while another had 39 times the acceptable level of enterobacteria, which are a group of bacteria that live in the lower intestines of humans and animals and include bugs such as Salmonella.

[ source ]

As the world moves to a touch interface ( iPads , ATMS, iPhones etc) can you imagine how disgusting our interactions with technology are going to be?

Keeping your gadgets clean is a simple as squeezing some sanitizer on a tissue and wiping the screen and back.  If you want a more detailed detailing, check out this piece from Gizmodo for tips on getting into every crevase. CyberClean is a putty type subtance that claims to de-germ your gear. Apple has also weighed in to the fray with an official page on cleaning your Mac products .

You wash your hands, make sure you scrub your phone too.

catch the buzz ... pass it on.

[#2]

Unlike "tough" cameras, I'm dissappointed there isn't many "tough" phones, or better yet "tough" smartphones.

[#3]

To clarify, with "tough" or waterproof phones. We would be able to throw soap and water at them for a good thorough cleaning. Perhaps add it the the laundry or dish washer for a periodic cleansing..

[#4]

If your phone is off, you can absolutely do this (wash your phone with your dishes).

Just make sure it is totally dry before powering it on.

Still, there is no need to sterilize the insides if all the bacteria is on the surface of the phone.  I would just power it off, and take to an anti-bacterial wet nap cleaner.