Posts in Green Tech

Samsung comes clean... with green cell phones

Bonnie Cha | Jun 17, 2008

Samsung recently showed its greener side as it unveiled two new, environmentally-friendly cell phones at the World IT Show in Seoul, Korea. The Samsung W510 is the company's first mobile to be made of "bio-plastic", which is produced with natural material extracted from corn. In addition, the W510 uses a water-soluble coating and no heavy metals, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, were used in the production of the cell phone.

The second handset, the Samsung F268, is made from the same material but it, as well as its accessories, also has the benefit of not containing any BFRs (brominated flame retardants) or PVC. The F268 is compliant with the Energy Star requirements (energy-efficiency guidelines set by US Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy) and comes equipped with an alarm to alert you when the battery is full and encourages you to unplug the charger afterwards.

While the W510 will ship in Korea and the F268 in China come June, it's not clear whether both or either of the cell phones will be sold in the US or elsewhere. The good news is that Samsung is making a global effort to lessen its impact on the environment by launching more environmentally-conscious products with more renewable material and less energy consumption and setting up a cell phone recycling program. Samsung isn't alone in this crusade, as Nokia has been very active in this field.

Via CNET Crave

Filed under: Green Tech, Mobile Phones
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Solar bags find it's not easy being green

Mike Yamamoto | Jun 14, 2008

The merits of solar-paneled bags transcend mere fashion, of course, but we're still surprised at how long it's taking for these green-conscious accessories to find their true aesthetic value. Try as they might, too many of them simply can't shake the look of chicken-wire siding or some other material that might seem more appropriate for a prison yard.

As seen with other products, the subtly named Solar Energy Purse absorbs ultraviolet rays to power any number of gadgets inside, with a backup battery for those rainy days. Despite this undeniable usefulness, as Boing Boing says, it still looks like it's made from "cut-up bits from your grandfather's old belts and velour loungewear". Harsh, but fair. Especially because they could have hired that student from Iowa State University who designed the Power Purse.

Via Crave CNET

Filed under: Gadgets, Green Tech
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A battery-free remote control

Juniper Foo | Jun 09, 2008

SMK has a prototype TV remote control that tosses out the batteries, relying on kinetic energy instead to work. Of course, don't expect any fancy features on something this simple. Though it rather reminds me of the battery-less LG remote wand I have at home, which requires a few twists of the knob to operate each time. So this gets my vote for being energy-efficient and doing its bid for the Planet.

According to the literature, the channels, volume control and On/Off power switch are controlled by working a trigger on the handle. When pulled, an electromagnetic induction coil rotates at high speed by means of gears. This, in turn, generates a current of 20-30mA--sufficient to change the channel via infrared light. Two consecutive pulls will turn the TV on or off, while volume control is activated by pulling the trigger and pushing a button simultaneously. Though hopefully, by the time the commercial unit is out, it'll look less like a flashlight toy and more like something in keeping with the rest of the home A/V gear.

Source and pictures from Fareastgizmos

Filed under: Green Tech, Home AV
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