Category Archives: Gadgets and Tech
To cut costs, the best way is to maintain a close watch on your energy consumption. And the Wattcher is just the product. It is a small device that displays the electricity consumption in the home allowing you to monitor and curb the energy used. This was designed by Marcel Wanders and it is something you can place anywhere in the house. It looks like one of those scented things or mosquito repellants. To charge this device there is a two pin connector too. Irony, right? The need to charge something that will help you cut down on the source of charging?
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Since mobile phones are an integral part of our lives nowadays, Digicel proved they are an amazing lot by partnering with Chinese Manufacture ZTE and Dutch-based technology innovator Intivation to provide an ultra-low-cost solar-powered mobile phone – The Digicel Coral-200-Solar. This is the company’s way of “pioneering green technology”. The aim of the project, the statement said, was to target subscribers with limited or no access to electricity. The charger – when exposed to sunlight – uses a solar panel to convert solar energy into power for the mobile phone. The solar charger is delivered with a set of six mobile phone adapter plugs covering the main cell phone brands including Nokia and Sony Ericsson along with MP3 players and some computers. This is a very interesting plan and hope more telecommunication operators around the world buck up for the same.
[JamaicaObserver]
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Current Cost has launched the ENVI which is an energy monitor that will help you keep a watch on the electricity usage at home. The company is known for producing products that improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Using simple and easy to use plug-in monitors, the number of watts consumed and the cost for running an appliance is displayed. Identifying energy hungry appliances allows users to alter their use and habits when it comes to such devices, and the ability to track the decline in energy efficiency allows them to identify when it’s cost effective to replace the item.
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Current Cost has launched the ENVI which is an energy monitor that will help you keep a watch on the electricity usage at home. The company is known for producing products that improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. Using simple and easy to use plug-in monitors, the number of watts consumed and the cost for running an appliance is displayed. Identifying energy hungry appliances allows users to alter their use and habits when it comes to such devices, and the ability to track the decline in energy efficiency allows them to identify when it’s cost effective to replace the item.
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Sony has for years been creating useful, convenient and exquisite technological designs for mankind. So it took a small break from all the creating and allowed a few ID students from China to let their minds go crazy and create a few green ideas. The outcome was as follows. A Sony Bathman Shower music player created by the Peng Shi-Nan Dong Hwa University students who made a music system that mimics the flow of water from a showerhead which means an invigorating flow of water results in some hard rock music coming your way while a gentle shower plays some soft mellow music. Second is a Sony Conductor TV Remote by the Donghua University students. It is a wand-shaped remote that requires you to sway it from side to side to power it, change channels and play with the volume. It also feature a green LED light to indicate power levels.
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The Eucalyptus Project uses Eucalyptus to build self-hosted elastic computing clouds and aims to provide open source infrastructure for cloud computing. The key developers behind the project have launched a company with the intent of commercializing the technology, and have received $5.5 million in venture capital funding to get them started.
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Samsung has launched an eco friendly, environmentally aware cell phone design called the Clover. It comes with four modules that you can attach to your phone, which will help collect, and share environmental awareness through a social collaborative called the ‘eco-map’. It also has a cool feature where the packaging can be used as a charger with its solar panels. The phone hence reduces energy use and also uses recyclable materials.
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The PiSAT Solar’s K-Light is a very useful product especially while going on a hike or if you take a trip to someplace that is low on electricity. The unit, in 10 hours of daylight charging can give up to 20 hours worth of battery power for use in the low-power 8 LED mode or 10 hours of life if used in 16 LED mode. It’s also switchable between flashlight and lantern modes making it a good option for camping trips. K-Light is designed for up to 10 years of full daily use in such a scenario and PiSAT is working on an adapter to let the lantern’s battery also charge a cellphone.
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Old is gold and who can argue with so many stories of using the age old techniques, recycling them to work in the current living conditions and creating a useful alternative to wasting energy. Tibetan designer Taikkun Li is using tourists as an energy source for his Prayer Wheel Energy Generator, envisioned for Tibet. This is how it works – when tourists spin a multitude of prayer wheels, the positive energy can be harvested along Tibetan streets, turned into electricity, and used to provide evening lighting along those streets and inside the adjacent homes.
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Retro is in and so is eco-friendly products and alternatives. Finnish designer Pekka Salokannel has come up with a great concept. It is a solar-powered Gram Speakers which is patterned in the old gramophone record player style that gives such a nostalgic feel. It will be charged up by three layers of solar panels and the batteries will help play music long beyond sunset. The volume can be changed with the touch of a finger.
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