Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

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]

More and more products seem to be going green now-a-days, the latest comes in the form of a 500GB external hard drive from SimpleTech. The new drive is called the [re]drive and is being touted as the “World’s Most Eco Friendly External Drive.”

The [re]drive’s outer casing is made from aluminum and bamboo and features a low-powered hard drive and an Energy Star power adapter. In addition, SimpleTech has also opted to offer the [re]drive as a fanless drive, having the aluminum on the case act as a heat sink instead. And further helping with power management, the [re]drive also has a feature that will automatically turn the drive on and off with your computer.

The [re]drive, which has Turbo USB 2.0 connectivity and 500GB of storage space is going to retail for $160.

SimpleTech is also offering a nice way to back up your external drive with the Fabrik Ultimate Backup which includes 2GB of online storage for free, and if needed you also have the option to upgrade that to an unlimited option for 5GB a month.

Product [Fabrik]

It looks like the MINI will be the next automobile to go green here in the US. Thanks to some recent statements from MINI USA VP Jim McDowell it looks like they will be launching an electric MINI during the summer of 2009.

Of course at this time the details are still very light, and McDowell was not able to comment on just what type of battery will be powering these new models or whether they will be available for sale, lease or both. Its also still unclear if they will initially be released nationwide or just in California. MINI has promised more details before the end of the year.

Based on a company press release the initial release will consist of “several hundred Minis to experiment with electric drive systems.” This experiment is designed to see just how well they will do in the real world market.

Electric cars have been an interesting and growing trend and offer a seemingly dedicated following from those who own one. A release of an electric MINI should prove to be even more interesting considering how loyal many of the current MINI owners already are about their cars.

Via [AutoblogGreen]

You know those Staples ads that say “now we have an ‘Easy’ button”.  Man, I wish I had an easy button that worked, but there is an easier way to become more eco-friendly with the Ecobutton.  This is an ecologically friendly USB add-on that you put on the computer, and will help you reduce energy.

All a user needs to do is plug it in, and it goes into operation if you are away from your desk for too long.  I think we all know that we waste so much energy when our computer is idling, and the company says it “adds up over the years creating a hefty carbon footprint that could only be rivaled by Bigfoot-if he used a PC”. 

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Sharp is harnessing the power of the sun to create an energy-efficient and environment-friendly LCD TV. In the forthcoming G8 Summit, the Japanese TV manufacturer will show off a prototype of its 26-inch LCD TV using solar panel as its main source of energy.

Sharp claims this new technology reduces annual energy consumption by about 75% compared to the existing 26-inch LCD TVs available in the market today. Moreover, the new triple-junction thin-film solar module technology is free of toxic materials. Not to mention that using solar panel reduces fossil fuel consumption.

While the company’s main objective is to provide TV to approximately 6 billion people on earth with scarce or no electricity, this prototype is also relevant to all of us in the face of mounting increase in gas prices and our fondness for supporting “green” products.

No word yet on the availability or pricing of this solar-powered LCD TV. I’m hoping this socially responsible product will be affordable to the developing countries considering its objective.

Via [CrunchGear]

Plants are more versatile than we give them credit for, you can make clothes with them, build with them, use them as ornaments and if your really radical you can eat them. However up until know you would have even thought of making phones with them, and its all thanks to Samsung who have unveiled their new “initiative to be more nature friendly” which means they will making some of their new handsets (the W510 is the first) out of corn.

Admittedly it is not just corn as that would be incredibly impractical, rather it is a corn based plastic that makes the casing. This technology is not new, it has been used in things like plastic bags on-and-off since the mid 1990s, but it is not till now that it has been used in such a high profile and relatively high cost product. This is due to the fact that is has been strengthened, so in the future we could see things like corn PCs and Laptops, and this could spell the end for some of the heavy metals such as lead or mercury which have not been needed in this handset.
This, coupled with their attempts to irradiate BFRs and PVC from charges and other accessories, will make Samsung a lot greener in the future.

Via [InfoWorld]

Samsung has just launched two mid-range mobile phones, the W510 geared for the Korean market and the F268 geared for the Chinese market. What makes these two phones special is the fact that they will be marketed as environmental-friendly products, given the fact that Samsung says they use recyclable materials when they created these handsets.

The W510 was said to be Samsung’s first mobile phone made out of “bio-plastic” materials extracted from - corns. Samsung is also bragging about the fact that this mobile handset was produced without the use of any heavy metals. Yes dear readers, no Lead, Mercury and Cadmium and not even any applied water-soluble coating.

While the F268, according to Samsung does not contain BFRs (Brominate Flame Retardant) or PVC. Well, that is some comforting piece of information indeed. Additionally, the F268 also feature an alarm which triggers a sound when the phone is fully charged. The alarm won’t stop unless the user pulls the plug off. And of course being environment-friendly as it is, it follows that the F268 adheres to the Energy Star requirements of the US EPA and US Dept. of Energy.

Aside from being environment-friendly devices, Samsung has not provided us with other features and details of these two phones. Hopefully they are as user friendly as they are environmentally.

Via [Akihabara News]