Bang & Olufsen drops mobile phones

Danish hi-fi manufacturer Bang & Olufsen says it's going to focus on developing and manufacturing audio and video products - which means it'll stop developing mobile phones, co-branded products an stand-alone audiovisual devices. It's previously produced the Serene and Serenata phones in partnersip with Samsung. As a result of the reorganisation, 165 staff are being made redundant. [Press release 1; Press release 2]

Researchers link mobile use during pregnancy with behavioural problems

Using a mobile phone while pregnant could lead to a child with behavioural problems, according to research highlighted by The Independent. A survey found that mothers who'd used handsets just two or three times a day could have raised the risk of their babies developing behavioural problems by the time they reached school age. The research involved the mothers of 13,159 children born in Denmark in the late 1990s, asking them about their use of the phones in pregnancy, their childrens' use of them and their childrens' behaviour up to the age of seven. Mothers who'd used mobiles were 54% more likely to have children with behavioural problems. The scientists are reported as saying there might be other possible explanations they did not examine – such as that mothers who used mobile phones frequently might pay less attention to their children – and stress that the results should be interpreted with caution. (Update: Guy Kewney at NewsWireless.net explains the situation well, as usual).