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Posts with tag green

O2 showcases pedal-powered cellphone charger

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 27th 2008 @ 8:52PM


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

by Sean Cooper, posted Jun 18th 2008 @ 12:04AM


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

by Darren Murph, posted Jun 16th 2008 @ 9:52AM


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]

Sliders, colors the themes with AT&T's new arrivals

by Chris Ziegler, posted May 11th 2008 @ 9:50AM


That black LG Shine we'd heard AT&T would be picking up is finally starting to trickle into stores, along with a green rendition of the Sony Ericsson W580i -- a phone that's no stranger to new paint jobs. Neither device is up on AT&T's site yet, so as of now, it looks like the only way to pick these two up is going to be to mosey on down to your local retailer. Sorry, couch potatoes!

[Thanks, BrainsOnTheMonitor]

Gallery: Sliders, colors the themes with AT&T's new arrivals

Motorola's shockingly lime Q9c in the flesh

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 1st 2008 @ 4:08PM


The great unasked question, "what would a buttoned-up, business smartphone look like in the same color as this pie I'm eating?" has finally been answered, thanks to the good folks at Motorola. This here Q9c is destined for Alltel and US Cellular, and we have to admit, it's actually pretty attractive. Could we actually see ourselves sliding one in our pocket? Eh, that might be going a bit far, but we think they'll manage to push a few of these suckers off shelves.

Gallery: Motorola's shockingly lime Q9c in the flesh

Lime green Motorola Q9c headed to Alltel, US Cellular

by Darren Murph, posted Mar 31st 2008 @ 10:21AM


Don't you dare say green wasn't already in style, as in all actuality, it's US Cellular and Alltel following the crowd yet again. As the run-up to CTIA 2008 continues, the aforesaid outfits have both announced that a lime green variant of the Motorola Q9c will soon be on their shelves. Aside from that, prospective customers can also snap up the WinMo 6-powered Q9c in licorice, and of course, they'll find a 1.3-megapixel camera, 2.4-inch display and 128MB of onboard memory. As for pricing, you can call Alltel's version your own for $99.99 on contract, and while US Cellular is being mum on the subject, both providers will have 'em available "this summer."

[Via CNET]

Read - Alltel's announcement
Read - US Cellular's announcement

Sprint re-launches LG Rumor, this time with more green

by Chris Ziegler, posted Mar 12th 2008 @ 6:36PM


Between the Scoop and Rumor spectrums, Sprint has managed to find a color that LG's affordable text machine has yet to feature: green. The features carry over from its black and white stablemates -- yes, including the lack of EV-DO -- but the green model gets to revel in the clever St. Patrick's Day tie-in, which Sprint really plays up in its press release. Some of our favorite groaners:
  • "Sham-rock it out with the built-in MP3 player"
  • "Take pictures of...a Leprechaun sighting using the 1.3MP camera"
  • "Check your stock quotes to see if you are 'in the green'"
  • "Avoid getting pinched for not wearing green just by carrying the new Rumor by LG"
Yeah, you get the idea. Get the latest Rumor shade in a box of Lucky Charms in the Sprint store of your choosing for $49.99 on a two-year contract after rebates.

[Thanks, Ryan G.]

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered MOTOSLVR L7 prototype gets pictured

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 16th 2008 @ 1:46PM


Right around a month ago, we heard that Angstrom Power had managed to stuff some of its sophisticated hydrogen fuel cells into a MOTOSLVR L7. That prototype, friends, is what you see about. Unfortunately, we're no closer to realizing when this stuff will actually escape the proverbial beta stage, and for whatever it's worth, we're also no closer to feeling absolutely safe with one of these next to our melon (though existing alternatives don't have the greatest track record either).

Motorola curiously shows off fuel cell technology at MWC

by Darren Murph, posted Feb 13th 2008 @ 11:46AM

Okay, we suppose cellphone companies trumpeting some sort of fuel cell technology isn't that weird, but nevertheless, Moto sure seems proud of its most recent advancements. Showcased at this year's Mobile World Congress are a number of "alternative power solutions including fuel cell and reflow batteries," which can be deployed in most every wireless / mobile environment out there. More specifically, the outfit is demonstrating a fuel cell-powered WiMAX base station, and it's also suggesting that said technology could "further guarantee [the] availability of uninterrupted power" in TETRA radio networks that are used in public safety environments. Fascinating, no?

Is this Sprint's crystal ball for January and February?

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jan 6th 2008 @ 5:50AM

If there's one thing we'd like more than a Rumor with fixed firmware, it's a Rumor in green. Alright, that's a little bit of a stretch, but it looks like we're going to get one nonetheless; Sprint's latest Playbook is circulating among the ranks, revealing a supposed green Rumor dropping on February 17. The pink Centro we've heard so much about should be available on January 13 alongside a red version of the BlackBerry Pearl 8130, the first in-store appearance of the Sanyo S1 candybar, and a new iDEN piece in the form of the Motorola i570. Keeping the green Rumor company on the 17th of next month will be the Samsung m520 slider (yay?) and -- maybe most notably of the whole lot -- the Samsung Ace, Sprint's answer to the whole BlackJack craze.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Apple responds to Greenpeace: what part of "end of 2008" didn't you understand?

by Thomas Ricker, posted Oct 16th 2007 @ 4:05AM


Yesterday's battle between Greenpeace and Apple had the former publicly chastising the latter for its continued use of hazardous chemicals in its iPhone. While they conceded that Apple is compliant with Europe's RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) standard, they lambasted Cupertino for its continued use of PVC and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) which, according to Greenpeace, "suggests that Apple is not making early progress towards its 2008 commitment to phase-out all uses of these materials." This morning, an Apple spokesperson told Macworld that, "Like all Apple products worldwide, iPhone complies with RoHS, the world's toughest restrictions on toxic substances in electronics. As we have said, Apple will voluntarily eliminate the use of PVC and BFRs by the end of 2008." Sure, you can fault Apple for not being as environmentally friendly as PVC-free Nokia, or Motorola and Sony Ericsson who offer some devices with BFR-free components. However, Greenpeace shouldn't feign surprise at what they found.

Greenpeace dismantles iPhone, discovers "hazardous chemicals"

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 15th 2007 @ 3:49PM


Apple's no stranger to being slammed by Greenpeace, and while Steve certainly spoke of a "Greener Apple," it seems that the iPhone wasn't included. According to tests arranged by the entity, it was found that the iPhone contained "toxic brominated compounds (indicating the presence of brominated flame retardants) and hazardous PVC," which are said to be disallowed across the pond due to RoHS requirements. More specifically, the independent testing found "brominated compounds in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna, in which they made up 10-percent of the total weight of the flexible circuit board." As expected, Greenpeace wasted no time pointing to rival firms that have received pats on the back for their green efforts, and subsequently shook a finger at Apple while murmuring "tsk tsk" -- but we'll leave the actual politicking to you all in comments, cool?

Update: Greenpeace does not claim that Apple is in violation of RoHS.

[Via Switched, thanks Laura]

Sprint aims to boost network reliability with green sources

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 13th 2007 @ 10:56AM

Sprint is looking to beef up its own network in hopes that failures like the one that just recently happened in Minnesota will be a thing of the past, and moreover, it's hoping to conserve energy all the while. Reportedly, the carrier is "actively testing and deploying sustainable and renewable energy sources at wireless sites across the country," which could act as both primary and backup energy sources. Hydrogen fuel cells, photovoltaic power and wind power are among the alternatives that Sprint is currently working with, and while no hard dates were listed for when these improvements would be implemented, it did suggest that some $7 billion were going to be spent to "further enhance its networks and meet the demand for more extensive mobile broadband coverage across the nation."

Alcatel goes green, reduces packaging

by Sean Cooper, posted Jun 30th 2007 @ 11:50AM


It seems mobile operators and now their handset suppliers are starting to take the environment into consideration -- three by our reckoning, and in only a couple months -- by doing favors for ol' mother nature. Alcatel, working in conjunction with Carbon Footprint has tweaked the packaging of its new device line and made it three times smaller. This is of course environmentally pleasant from an energy consumed perspective, reduced shipping costs, and in shrinking the piles on the desks at Engadget Mobile. Packaging is useful for shipping, but if you're picking up your mobile at a corporate store, the handset, a CD, and whatever cables are required really is enough. Thank you Alcatel, from the very bottoms of our hearts -- now if only somebody would work on the impossible-to-open-without-a-saw shrink packaging.

[Via textually.org]

Orange hopes to harness the wind to charge your mobile

by Sean Cooper, posted Jun 20th 2007 @ 3:52PM

With O2's recent green move, it seems Orange has cried "me too" and hopped on the enviro-friendly train. The Orange commissioned turbine -- which will be unveiled at the Glastonbury festival this week -- weighs just 150 grams and can be mounted on a tent where it will spin and charge some type of battery pack. Once your day of hard trekking is done, simply plug your mobile into the device, and voila, instant power while far from home. While we are fairly confident that O2 just looked for something to let them into the sponsorship inner circle at the Glastonbury Festival, that doesn't stop us from wanting one -- but make ours hat-mounted, thanks.

[Via textually.org]


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