Pre hits the FCC 30

It’s sort of a rite of passage for new wireless devices, and also sort of a requirement if Palm ever hopes to sell a Pre: the FCC gauntlet of tests to ensure that a new wireless device will play nice with other electronic equipment and will also not fry your innards when you make a call. Engadget, eternal FCC trawlers that they are, found the Pre’s newly granted FCC certifications (filing 1, filing 2). As it turns out, the Pre does play well with others and will not make your brains boil, so you can rest assured that you’ll be synergizing safely.

The Pre's ever-so-exciting FCC Label

All of the good stuff, like testing photos and manuals were kept in confidentiality by the FCC at Palm’s request, via the letter submitted back in February. What they do give us is a whole slew of technical data about how the Pre will perform in a wireless sense, as well as official governmental confirmation that WiMax is not in the mix. We also got the Pre’s SAR rating (Specific Absorption Rate), which measures the amount of radio frequency energy you can expect to absorb. While making a call your head will be subject to a SAR rating of 1.284 while the rest of your body can expect 0.965 (for clarification, SAR is measured in watts/kilogram; in the US phones are limited to 1.6 W/kg, in the EU it’s 2.0 W/kg). CNET has compiled a thorough list of where hundreds of phones land according to the FCC, and the Palm Pre lands right towards the average.

[via: Engadget]

Thanks to Loonytunes and mobileman for the tip!