Aside from the potentially toxic chemicals and environmentally-unfriendly plastics used in the manufacturing of cellphones, the power-hungry smartphone in your pocket may be helping to kill our beautiful planet. Chemicals can be reformulated and plastics can be recycled, but the battery power that keeps your smartphone chugging along has to come from somewhere – a…
Turkish MNO launches wind-powered base station
Avea, a Turkish MNO (Mobile Network Operator) has deployed a wind-powered base station. Actually it’s a hybrid model, which can use both solar and wind energy! Interestingly, it’s a Scottish company (Proven Energy) that supplied the turbine, which was fitted locally. Proven Energy have deployed a number of these turbines previously, for such luminaries…
Cricket Launches Phone Recycling Program, Supports Affordable Housing
I guess since it’s Earth Day, we should find some green news, eh? Cricket Wireless has taken the occasion to announce their phone recycling program, whose proceeds will go towards the Rebuilding Together housing charity. All you have to is bring your phone into a Cricket store, or if you can’t manage, you can print…
KDDI Gets Eco-Friendly Water-Resistant, Solar-Powered Phone
Japan’s KDDI is getting on the eco-bandwagon by introducing a solar-powered, waterproof handset manufactured by Sharp. With only 10 minutes in the sun, you can squeeze out one minute of talk time and two hours of standby. KDDI beats Samsung’s Blue Earth to the market, but not ZTE’s Coral. Still, it’s a slick-looking handset, and…
Eco-friendly Concept Phone uses E-Ink, Fuel Cells
Designer Sean Park has cooked up this environmentally-sound phone that runs on liquid fuel, is made of recyclable plastics and uses e-ink to reconfigure its key layout. Currently, the eco-phone most likely to be made is Samsung’s Blue Earth, but there’s certainly a lot of room for competition, especially from the likes of this lower-end…
Nappies and Mobiles…
What a strange title you might think – but I suggest you consider what might be the relation? Well I came to one the other day and it is thus: both are TERRIBLE in terms of their impact on the environment! For those of you unlucky enough not to have a child/children, you may not…
Telenor introduces mobile phone recycling/buyback for the sake of the environment
According to Telenor‘s calculations at least four million used mobile phones are lying around collecting dust in Norwegian homes. Presently 82 per cent of Norwegian households have at least one mobile phone extra that they are not using. It is only a dismal 12 per cent of consumers that recycle mobile phones. Since mobile phones…
Telus Plants a Tree for Every Recycled Phone
On top of their support of Earth Hour coming up this Saturday (remember to shut off the lights at 8:30 PM, y’all), Canadian carrier Telus renewed a pledge to plant a tree for every phone returned. They’ve been doing it since last year, but it’s still a great way of simultaneously cutting down on e-waste…
Samsung’s Blue Earth Charges, Tans By Sun
Okay, maybe not tan, but Samsung’s newly-announced Blue Earth will indeed be solar-powered and on top of saving power with rear-mounted cells, the device itself is made of recycled PCM plastic (ie bottles). As for the UI, it will feature a pedometer and tell you how much CO2 you’re not using by driving, and thus…
Nano Generators to Allow Users to Power Devices from Typing
Huh, now here’s a novel concept: harness the force you use to type to juice your phone’s battery. Georgia Institute of Technology researchers are working hard to pull it off. “Using nanotechnology, we have demonstrated ways to convert even irregular biomechanical energy into electricity,” said Zhong Lin Wang, a Regent’s professor in the Georgia Tech…