Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

“Going Green” is certainly a very popular buzzword for many companies in the past few years.  In an attempt to capitalize on that, many tech companies like Apple and Dell (and stores like Best Buy) have taken up recycling programs.  In terms of the companies, however, it usually involves buying a product from them (and in Dell’s case, they’ll only take Dell branded items). 

Toshiba is taking a different approach.  Toshiba will accept any sort of electronics from cell phones to computer to video game systems, all without having to buy a single thing.  Toshiba wants to recycle any sort of “e-waste” you might have regardless of where you buy electronics or what kind of electronics you buy.  Toshiba will even pay you for recycling as a trade-in (which, admittedly Best Buy has offered before).  For example, my two year old MacBook Pro would get me $325,, and a $25 Starbucks gift card.  Not bad if I wanted to get rid of my computer.

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With the number of home-based entertainment and productivity applications that are running over home networks growing by leaps and bounds, some Wireless-G routers just can’t handle users’ demands.

Netgear saw this problem, and as a result, developed a new Wireless-N technology, which they feel is leaps and bounds above anything out there now.  The “Green” crowd will also appreciate Netgear’s new products since they are eco-friendly. 

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PC Magazine is reporting that Dell plans to change its laptop displays to mercury-free and energy saving LED backlighting.  Two thirds of their Latitude E-series will ship with the new displays by December 15th, and they plan to have 80% of their laptops include the new LED backlights. The transition is expected to be completed by 2010.

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Some further evidence that Palm is prepared to ride out the success of the Centro as far as it will take them, and the latest additions come in the form of a few new colors dubbed simply as “Green” and “Rose.” Both models were recently pictured (image above) over on the SprintUsers forum and offer nice clear images of what seems to be a slightly drab looking olive green along with a new shade of pink. The green, at least from the picture looks to be a nice shade, and the pink seems to be much darker than the current pink model on the market. Nothing has been stated officially, however these new shades are expected to be available late next month.

Read [SprintUsers Forum] Via [Palm InfoCenter]

HP has come up with a pretty unique take on packaging. In fact they have won Wal-Mart’s Home Entertainment Design Challenge for coming up with their latest idea to reduce packaging.

HP has been able to reduce the packaging for their Pavilion dv692 laptop by an incredible 97% simply by cutting the box out of the picture. That’s right, HP will begin packaging the dv692 in its own messenger style bag. The laptop along with all of the accessories such as battery and power cable will still be wrapped in some bubble wrap to protect it while in shipping, but it will not come with any box.

So overall it sounds like a pretty good idea, not only cut out a lot of the packaging, but users will also get a nice bag included with the purchase. However their packaging savings does not stop there, HP is also able to ship three of these notebooks (pictured below) in a single box thanks to the reduced packaging, which according to Wal-Mart “requires a fourth fewer trucks to deliver to stores.”

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There has been talk and details about the newest laptop from Asus, mostly centered around the material it’s made from; bamboo. Admittedly this isn’t the first time that bamboo has been used as a computer case (Dell intro’s super-small, eco-friendly bamboo Green desktop PC) but it may be the first time for a laptop, and it does look interesting.

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American’s are begging for alternative energy sources as of late, especially in their cars if it’ll save them money over time (see the several months you have to wait for a new Prius).  Hydrogen to many seems to be the next sustainable energy source.  Only one problem: there are only 60 stations for hydrogen across the country, only two of which do not require an appointment.  Thanks to this, the country’s first hydrogen cross country trip required flatbed trucks to carry the car when it ran out of fuel. Part of the point of the trip was apparently to show that in order for hydrogen to become viable more stations are needed, and I guess they accomplished that. Traveling 1,000 miles or more on a flatbed truck severely increases the carbon footprint of hydrogen cars. 

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The trouble with trying to save energy is that we don’t really know how much we actually use.  I mean, I get an energy bill every month, but what good is that information in real-time?

I suppose this is why devices like the EnergyHub were created.  This UMPC looking device puts the energy consuming information in the hands of the user.

The EnergyHub has a touchscreen that acts as a “dashboard” which allows the user to set monthly consumption targets, and some great info about their current energy consumption.  This information is also available by the user over the Internet. 

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A lot of cell phones are thrown away every year (I know I’ve thrown out a few), and eventually end up in landfills, not decomposing like they should be, due to the plastic they are made of.  Well, that’s what’s happening now.  Samsung wants to change that, though.  Samsung has unveiled the E200 Eco, a more environmentally friendly version of the E200.  What makes this one different is that it’s shell is made from bio-plastic which is made from corn.

Having not had a chance to actually see the phone, I can’t comment on it’s how trustworthy the bio-plastic is.  All bio-plastic I have encountered has been in cup form and has been very flimsy.  It’s nice to see Samsung trying though.  Given the nature of cell phones, it’s doubtful many will be as environmentally friendly in the years to come.  The easiest option, though, would be to make recycling cell phones much easier for consumers.  I doubt everyone who gets a new cell phones thinks about what they do with the old one unless they are handing it down to someone else.

Read [Digital Trends]

Dell has made their eco-friendly and small desktop PC available, the Studio Hybrid, which is not your typical low-cost mini PC. Dell has managed to offer the Studio Hybrid at a fair price, beginning at just $499, but also managed to get some decent specs in there as well as keep it both energy efficient and stylish.

The Studio Hybrid, which was originally shown off back in April had the bamboo exterior, however they will ship with seven interchangeable sleeves, which include the original bamboo, as well as emerald, quartz, ruby, sapphire, slate and topaz.

The base model offers a 1.86GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core processor, 1GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive and an 8x CD/DVD burner. The Studio Hybrid also offers a standard DVI and HDMI connector, five USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, a line-in jack on the front, a line-out jack on the rear and a wired Ethernet port.

The Studio Hybrid also has optional upgrades to include built-in Wi-Fi, Blu-ray and a wireless keyboard and mouse. The PC, being touted as eco-friendly and green was noted as using 70 percent less energy while still being 80 percent smaller than a “typical desktop minitower.” It also has an Energy Star 4.0 rating and has its packing material made from 95 percent recyclable material.

Product [Dell]