Best Eco Gadget 2008 Winner
November 17th, 2008 by
Last month we listed the nominations for Best Eco Gadget in The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards.Â
The awards, decided by the UK’s top technology and gadget journalists from online and print, let you the consumer know what the best camera, satnav, music gadget, laptop, software, video game, home cinema device, mobile phone, email device, and eco gadgets are.Â
This year it was tougher than ever with the nominations drawn from over 600 products released in the last year with the usual suspects not even getting a look in on some of the categories.Â
So who was the winner of the Best Eco Gadget catagory. We can confirm it was Pure for its move to more friendly green practices and packaging. The runner up was Roberts solarDAB radio. Both of these products were spotted by the Eco Trend Spotter team, well done.
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Shops which Eco Gadgets can be found by <clicking here>
Posted in Awards and Accolades, Eco Gadgets, Shopping | No Comments »
Top Green Gadget Buying Tips
November 16th, 2008 byMany of us this Christmas will give and receive new gadgets. Some of these with be eco and some not. The question we discussed in the BeMoreEco office was what is the best process of buying gadgets this year. What should our green eco gadget shopping tips be.
Well after some searching we found these Green Gadget tips posted by Plant Green.
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- Check out what the experts say before buying.
Take a look at Energy Star ratings, EPEAT ratings, Consumer Reports, and other expert sources to help you make comparisons among gadgets before purchasing. This will help you find the most energy efficient and eco-friendly items available to you. - Buy used. Buying a pre-owned electronic accomplishes two excellent goals.
First, you help to extend the lifetime of the gadget, lowering its carbon footprint, and secondly, you save money. With the rate at which manufacturers churn out new gadgets, buying barely used gadgets in great shape is an easy task and usually is much less expensive, even for the latest gear. There are great buyback companies such as TechForward that sell refurbished electronics, and places like Craigslist and eBay are also good places to look. Of course, the manufacturers usually offer refurbished gear at reduced prices as well. You might even find what you’re seeking free of charge on networks like Freecycle. - Buy recycled and recyclable.
Check out what materials are used in the product and go for gadgets that use low impact materials that are recycled or sustainably obtained. It is tough, so far, to find new gadgets made of recycled materials, but not impossible. If it lacks that element, ensure that it is recyclable. If you want to go a step further, write to the company that makes the product you’re after and let them know you’re only interested in purchasing if they make greener choices in their production. - Charge your gadgets with renewable energy.
Nope, you don’t have to invest in solar panels on your house, or a wind turbine in your yard. There are small, personal charging devices that use solar or wind to power your gadgets. Check out the Hymini wind turbine that can charge your cell phone or MP3 player just by sticking it out the window or taking it with you on a bike ride. There are also a wide range of small portable solar chargers that can charge up your gear in no time while you relax in the sun. Note: Most everything today is rechargeable. But just in case you’re checking out something that isn’t, be sure to go with rechargeable batteries, and ditch the alkaline. Go with Lithium Ion. - Zap vampire power.Â
For true gadget lovers, this may be the most fun tip because you get to green your gadgets with more gadgets. Vampire power is the energy used by devices when they’re plugged in but not turned on. Prevent wasted energy first by unplugging any devices not in use or that are fully charged. Then, try using devices like smart power strips that cut the power supply to devices that no longer need it. - Make full use of a gadget’s features.
This helps not only extend the usefulness of a gadget and make it fully worth the money you put down for it, but it also cuts down on the number of gadgets you feel you need or want in your life. Additionally, it cuts down on how many things you need to continually charge up. For instance, most cell phones can now act as alarm clocks, calculators, PDAs, cameras and music players. There’s five gadgets no longer needed by making full use of your cell phone. - Use what you have for as long as you can.
While some technology changes so quickly that this might not be possible, for the majority of gadgets, you can get a whole lot of years of loyal use out of them before it is time to upgrade. This is especially true with cell phones, handheld gaming devices, PDAs and similar gadgets. While it is tempting to get a new phone when you renew your contract, or a new laptop when the faster, smaller version hits stores, ask yourself if you really need it and weigh your options before replacing your gear. - Use old gadgets as money makers.
Buyback programs aren’t only great places to look for new gadgets, they’re also a perfect place for getting rid of your old items if you’ve decided to upgrade to newer versions. Buyback programs buy your old gear, refurbish it and resell it. It keeps gadgets in the loop much longer, and puts a little green in your pocket and your heart. - Recycle gadgets when they’ve kicked the bucket.Â
If you have a device that has reached the end of its useful life, you definitely don’t want to toss it. Avoid hazardous e-waste by utilizing one of the growing number of free recycling programs. Many manufacturers like Toshiba will take back old gear for free, helping to make disposal easy on you and the earth. Check out local electronics stores, or check online for free recycling programs in your area. - Offset your carbon footprint.
Even if you implement all the tips above, it’s likely your gadget will still make a carbon footprint. You can offset this by purchasing carbon offsets online. Your money goes directly towards programs that reduce carbon emissions. Some manufacturers make is super easy by allowing customers to purchase carbon offsets when they buy their new device.
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Posted in Carbon Footprint, Christmas, Eco Gadgets, Good Green Ideas, Shopping, Tips | 1 Comment »
Best Eco Gadget 2008 nominations
October 15th, 2008 by
Here are the nominations for Best Eco Gadget in The Vodafone Pocket-lint Gadget Awards:Â
- Pure Evoke FlowÂ
- Roberts solar DAB radio
- OneForAll energy saving remote
- Solio Magnesium Edition rechargeable solar power pack
- Ecotronics penguin torch
The Pocket-lint awards are the longest running gadget awards in the UK (that we know of) with 12 categories in total including the coveted Best Product of the Year 2008. The awards, voted by a panel of leading gadget journalists, including the staff from the Pocket-lint team, will decide the real must-have gadgets of the year, rather than those simply deemed cool or anticipated, and be the definitive guide for consumers looking to buy gifts this Christmas.Â
Winners will be announced at an Awards evening in London on Thursday 6 November.  Will post the winner as soon as we know.
Posted in Eco Gadgets | 2 Comments »
Mobile phones to track carbon footprint
September 30th, 2008 byThis is a great article we saw in the Guardian this week about keeping track of your carbon footprint could become as simple as slipping a mobile phone in your pocket: a London-based start-up company has developed software for mobile phones that uses global positioning satellites to work out automatically whether you are walking, driving or flying and then calculate your impact on the environment.
Carbon Diem’s inventors claim that, by using GPS to measure the speed and pattern of movement, their algorithm can identify the mode of transport being used. It can therefore calculate the amount of carbon dioxide that a journey has emitted into the atmosphere – without any need for input from the traveller.
The system’s inventor, Andreas Zachariah, a graduate student of the Royal College of Art in London and chief executive of the Carbon Hero company, said that Carbon Diem is the world’s first automated carbon calculator.
Because it keeps a constantly updated diary of a person’s carbon emissions, Zachariah said that a user can easily track their environmental impact and, if they choose, modify their behaviour to lower-carbon alternatives.
“We’re facilitating people to make little changes and allow those changes to be noted and registered and possibly shared,” he said. “If lots of people realise we’re in this marathon [in tackling climate change] and we’re not running alone, then we actually think people will be motivated to stick to changes.”
He has tested the software in Nokia and Blackberry phones, using computer algorithms to predict the kind of transport a person is taking. He claims that in tests over the past year, the software was almost 100% accurate in working out when people were on airplanes or trains; it was between 65-75% accurate at guessing when people travelled on buses.
To read the full article <click here>
Posted in Carbon Footprint, Eco Gadgets, Good Green Ideas | No Comments »
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