Gil Friedlander, co-founder and CEO, Tawkon
On the second day of the Dublin Web Summit, Siliconrepublic.com caught up with Gil Friedlander, the co-founder of Tawkon, a start-up from Israel that has come up with a new type of wellness app that warns mobile phone users when they are exposed to high levels of radiation during calls.
Set up four years ago, Tawkon works solely on Android devices and is available on Google Play. The app has been refused admission to the Apple App Store and even once got a direct rejection from Steve Jobs, according to Friedlander.
Via the Tawkon app, Friedlander says mobile phone users get a warning when their phone’s radiation levels peak when the device is close to the body.
He says so far the app has protected more than 100m calls to save mobile users from high radiation levels.
Apparently, 90pc of the time that a mobile phone is in use during a call it operates at low radiation levels, an indication that the phone has a solid connection to the network. However, Friedlander says that during 10pc of a call users can be exposed to high radiation levels because the phone has to work harder to connect to the network.
“It is the high radiation spikes that pose as a health risk to users, especially when the device is up against the body. Our app warns users when radiation levels are high so that users can switch to a headset, speakerphone or change locations to protect themselves from direct exposure,” he explains.
Prior to co-founding Tawkon in 2008, Friedlander worked with Celtro, a late-stage start-up that provides mobile backhaul solutions.
Check out our video interview with Friedlander where he talks about the evolution of Tawkon and how the start-up is monetising.
