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Posts with tag green

California Cool Cars regs put the kibosh on radio, cellphone, and GPS reception

We've seen plenty of tech over the years meant to mitigate our destruction of the environment -- from greener autos to Grateful Dead-themed cellphones -- most of which don't really ask us to tone down our consumer impulses all that much. But how about these new "Cool Cars" regulations recently adopted by the California Air Resources Board? By the year 2016, all autos sold in the state must have windows that prevent 60 percent of the sun's energy from entering the vehicle. To achieve this, windows are given a coat of glazing that contains microscopic specs of reflective metal oxide -- which will seriously hamper reception for your GPS, cellphone, and (this is of special interest to Engadget readers) white collar criminal-style work release ankle bracelet. As you can imagine, companies like Garmin are fuming -- although we suppose that if they play this right they can make a killing in the external car antenna business. It just goes to show you -- when it comes to environmental catastrophe, everyone's a victim.

[Via AutoBlog]

Helix Wind launching wind-powered cellphone tower trials in US and Africa

Helix Wind, a company that produces some very distinctive-looking wind turbines, is getting ready to start new trials in the US and Africa. These trials will involve testing the vertical wind turbines as a source of power for cellphone towers in areas where they may be off the grid, and carry much higher operating costs. The turbines should produce enough energy to power the cellphone towers, and pay for themselves within about six months. The trials are set to start at the end of the month with local Nigerian provider Eltek NSG as a main participant.

[Via Inhabitat]

Samsung S7550 Blue Earth reviewed, Monkey Wrench Gang unavailable for comment

We're not sure if the recent trend for greener gadgets comes from a wish to save the planet, assuage consumer's guilt, cash in on a trend, or some combination of the three, but we'll tell you one thing: it's not going anywhere. Of course, with a product named "Blue Earth" you know that you're not just getting a handset, but some vaguely eco-friendly ID, including: an outer shell (mostly) fashioned from recycled water bottles, a solar panel, and a pedometer (you know, to encourage walking / discourage driving). Of course, these are all things we can abide, but the question remains: how does this handset hold up, you know, as a handset? Well, GSM Arena recently put one through its paces and was kind enough to let us in on its findings. As feature phones go, says the author, this one stacks up quite nicely with something like Nokia's 5530 XpressMusic -- and even does it one better by throwing in a GPS. On the other hand, this isn't the thinnest phone in the world, the lack of HSDPA will be a deal breaker for some folks, and the 3 megapixel fixed focus camera leaves something to be desired. And how about the solar panel? According to Samsung, one hour of solar charging is good for 2 hours of standby and a little over 15 minutes of call time in 2G (or 10 minutes of talk time in UMTS). Also, it seems that they make the phone bulkier and harder to handle -- although we imagine it can't be as bad as whatever users of after-market solar panel attachments are experiencing. Other features include a 3-inch capacitive touchscreen (quite responsive, apparently) and WiFi. But that ain't all -- you really need to wade into this review yourself if you want all the juicy details. Luckily, it's but one click away: hit the read link to see for yourself.

Quigo ad placement

Sprint ramps up green effort with dedicated online, in-store presence for new accessories

It doesn't end with the Samsung Reclaim -- oh no, Sprint's eco-effort is going far beyond that. Well, maybe not far beyond that, but at least we're not just talking phones anymore. The carrier has announced that it's now offering a line of dedicated Earth-friendly accessories, including a couple cases made from recycled materials, a dual-mode universal car / wall charger that's Energy Star 2.0 compliant for minimum vampire power draw, and a single-panel Solio charger. To help call attention to the line, there'll be a dedicated web portal in addition to special in-store presence, so if you're a Sprint customer, odds are you'll have a hard time missing this stuff in the coming months.

Novothink unveils first licensed solar chargers for iPhone, iPod



We've seen plenty of solar chargers in our day -- and we're somewhat fond of them as a concept. Novothink's just unveiled the first chargers for iPods and iPhones that's officially licensed by Apple. These attractive little guys have integrated solar panels on the back with LEDs to let you know the state of your charge. If the sun fails you, there's also a USB cable for standard, non eco-friendly charging. These chargers only work with the 2nd generation iPod touch -- which will be available this month, while versions for the iPhone 3G and 3GS will be outed in November. They'll run you $70. Hit the read link for more photos.

[Via Inhabitat]

Samsung and Sprint introduce the Reclaim -- a cellphone made from corn


We love the Earth, and apparently so do Sprint and Samsung. The two companies have just introduced the Reclaim, a super-eco cellphone made from 80 percent recycled materials. The device -- a stout, sliding, QWERTY message-friendly model -- is constructed from "bio-plastic" materials made from corn, is free of PVC, and mostly free of BFR (brominated flame retardants)... which are apparently pretty bad. The phone also has a 2 megapixel camera, stereo Bluetooth, can accept microSD cards (we assume) up to 32GB, and has Sprint Navigation onboard. The packaging will be eco-friendly as well, as it's constructed from 70 percent recycled materials and printed with soy-based ink. The carrier will be selling the Reclaim in "Earth Green" or "Ocean Blue" come August 16th for $50 (after a $30 instant rebate and $50 mail-in rebate) with a two-year contract. Additionally, $2 of that profit will be funneled to the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program. Finally, a phone that goes with your Prius.

Quigo ad placement

Sony Ericsson's Naite GreenHeart gets hands-on treatment


Granted, most of the pizzaz in Sony Ericsson's Naite GreenHeart phone is within, but there's still something special about peering at the exterior of a phone and just envisioning all that tree-hugging magic that's going on within. We know the full-on teardown will happen soon enough, but 'til then, feast your eyes on the gallery waiting in the read link.

Sharp slings out industry's thinnest solar modules for cellphones


Timely, no? Just a month after Sharp aided in producing the planet's first waterproof solar cellphone, the aforementioned outfit has just announced the industry's thinnest solar module for handsets. Checking in at just 0.8 millimeters thick, the LR0GC02 shouldn't take up too much space on your daughter's great-granddaughter's smartphone, and while Sharp isn't handing over too many details just yet, we figure it'll pretty much do what it says. You know -- charge the handset it's integrated into whenever sunlight is available. As for when we'll see these in cellphones everywhere? Take a wild guess, tree-hugger.

[Via Akihabara News]

Samsung unveils Blue Earth, a solar-powered mobile phone


Samsung's Blue Earth handset might just be taking the green thing to a whole new extreme. Made from PCM, a recycled plastic from water bottles, the phone boast an "eco" mode for efficiently adjusting screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth usage, and an "eco walk" app / built-in pedometer to tell you how much CO2 emission you've saved by walking instead of driving. The best part? It's got a giant solar panel on the back that'll apparently charge it enough to make a phone call anytime the sun's peaking out. Of the form factor, Sammy says it "symbolizes a flat and well rounded shiny pebble" -- which we hope means it can skip puddles with the best of 'em. It'll come in recycled packaging with an energy efficient charger. What we don't know, unfortunately, is what makes this phone tick, neither OS nor hardware specs. Not a word on price yet, but UK environmentalists can look forward to this one second half of this year.

Nokia N79 Eco shrinks packaging, ditches phone charger

If syncing your phone with a workout routine isn't your cup of tea, Nokia has unveiled another N79 variant, the Eco. For the same cost as the standard version, you'll get smaller packaging, a petrol black casing with dark gray / steel gray / deep plum covers, and no charger whatsoever. The company is hoping you'll reuse your old charger instead of throwing it out. As for the outdated phone that came with that adapter, we're sure they'd love you to send that back for spare parts. The Eco is now available for pre-order from Nokia UK, with £4 of each purchase going towards the World Wildlife Fund.

[Via All About Symbian]

O2 launches green charger, first from UK carrier

Earth-friendly initiatives are picking up steam in the mobile world just as they are with virtually every other industry, and the redesign of the wall warts we all use to recharge our phones seems to be one of the lowest-hanging fruits. The problem stems from the fact that the chargers continue to draw prodigious power even after the phones to which they're attached are fully charged, leading to millions of wasted watt-hours year in and year out. The problem's so fricking big that the top five handset manufacturers put aside their differences long enough to agree on a standard for rating how "green" chargers are, and O2's British outpost wasted no time in jumping on the bandwagon with a universal charger said to be some 70 percent more efficient than your average brick. We imagine most other carriers are going to follow suit on this -- at least, they should -- and at £14.99 (about $22), it looks like there ain't much of a premium for saving the planet. Cheers to that, we say.

Wooden Nokia concept phone goes beyond the drawing board, gets built


Oh sure, LG has teased us with a faux wood cellphone, and Hulger has actually produced one that four people in existence can afford, but this... this is something else. According to the captions in textlad's Flickr pool, Nokia's own eco-team designed and created the object of desire that you see above: an 8-megapixel "handset" that appears to function just fine. We can already tell you this thing isn't coming to market, but we would absolutely love to be proven wrong.

[Via TreeHugger, thanks shellshock]

O2 showcases pedal-powered cellphone charger


Motorola so had this down pat last year, but we suppose O2 is just showcasing its pedal-powered charging system now that such devices are all the rage. Just days after we had a look at two unorthodox chargers from Orange, along comes rival O2 with a bicycle-related alternative. Reportedly, the eco-friendly device will be demonstrated at the O2 Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park, but unfortunately, each of the demo bikes will be stationary. Still no word on whether O2 has a mind to take this thing commercial, but for cyclists the world over, here's to hoping it does.

[Thanks, Adam]

Samsung double boils corn, makes SCH-W510 and SGH-F268


We've seen providers getting all green, and now it seems at least one of the big handset makers has seen fit to try a more earth-friendly approach. Samsung's W510 (pictured on left) and F268 sets, announced today at the World IT Show in Seoul, both feature a couple little dashes of greenery -- and are a decent first effort we'd wager. The W510 is made from a "bio-plastic" created with natural materials extracted from corn and its manufacturing process skips the use of lead, mercury, and other miserable ingredients. The F268 and its accessories don't contain any brominated flame retardants or PVC, and the handset features an alarm to let you know when it's charged and can be unplugged from the wall -- we like this one best, because while definitely green you could still brag a bit about it. The W510 packs a 2.1-inch screen, 2 megapixel camera, FM radio, Bluetooth, extra storage headroom via microSD, and should be landing in Korea this month. The F268 is a triple-band slider with a 2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, 2.1-inch VGA display, and also makes it debut this month in China. So there you have it friends, proof positive that green and cellular can be friends -- or have at least started flirting a bit.

Orange's recharge Pod tent to keep mobiles juiced at Glastonbury


For those fortunate enough to be planning a trip to this year's Glastonbury, you can rest assured that forgetting your mobile charger won't be the worst thing that could possibly happen. Reportedly, Orange will erect a seven-meter high recharge Pod tent in which patrons can stop by and reinvigorate their winded handset. Said tent will boast 500-watt solar panels and a 500-watt wind turbine in order to generate electricity for the lifeless phones, and Orange is hoping to juice up 100 devices per hour. If only such conveniences were everywhere...

[Thanks, Adam]




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