Blackberry Buzz - some possible solutions

I thought it was just Smartphones, but I guess a lot of other devices suffer from the buzzing sound as well!

Trying to Minimize A Lot of the Buzz About BlackBerrys - WSJ.com
A community of fed-up users of BlackBerrys, Treos and other wireless email hand-held devices is emerging, rallying against the buzz that interrupts business meetings, conference calls, courtroom proceedings, congressional hearings and sleep. In the hopes of avoiding interference with speakerphones or amplification systems, some hold their devices under the table at meetings and conferences. Others move them away from alarm clocks and baby monitors to block the buzz. Some have bought thicker cases for their devices or improvised aluminum-foil shielding. One user described removing the back cover of the device, spraying it with lacquer and sprinkling on a layer of metal shavings.

In public settings, the buzz culprits are often ashamed and try to surreptitiously silence the offending noise. While attending a panel discussion with the cast of the TV show “Everybody Hates Chris” in Los Angeles recently, Grant Cohen couldn’t resist pulling out his BlackBerry email device for a peek at incoming mail. But Mr. Cohen, who is 25 years old and works for a technology start-up, unfortunately was sitting next to a gigantic speaker and sent the buzzing across the entire audio system, causing hundreds of people in the audience to cringe.

“I immediately thought: shoot!” says Mr. Cohen, who shoved the device back in his pocket so as not to give his indiscretion away. “I was terribly embarrassed.”

Something like that happened to me once - I went to a talk in a conference room, but I was standing near a plate that connected to the in-ceiling speakers. And then the bzzz bzzzzzz bzzzing started.

There was also a car I rented once which was really prone to this interference. It was pretty darn distracting. Finally, I’m pretty sure I drop kicked my phone once to keep it away from a speakerphone in meeting.

Here’s a possible solution, but with severe consequences:

David Cowan, a managing partner of Silicon Valley firm Bessemer Venture Partners, is bothered by the hum in his car radio when he goes for a drive with his BlackBerry. But he thinks there is a plus to all this noise.

“In meeting rooms with a speakerphone,” he says, “the horrible buzz forces BlackBerry users to turn off their devices and pay attention to the discussion.”

Gah!