Green Gadgets

A bike zips down the road, powered by a rear wheel motor and a battery pack secured in the triangle frame. Its rider wears a gray waistcoat and a floppy bow tie. The year is 1895. Electric bikes have been around for longer than a century, but the swift rise of freeways, cheap gasoline and automobiles pushed them to the wayside. Today commuters are rediscovering the benefits of assisted pedal power.

Since the onslaught of 3D LED TVs began hitting the market, Samsung has been at the cutting edge of the 3D trend. In fact, seldom has Samsung not been either the leader or key competitor of the latest LED innovations. Before many knew 3D TVs were even a home theater possibility, Samsung announced its plan to mass produce 3D LED TVs. Now, going into the 2010 IFA trade show, the tides may be turning a bit for a key Samsung competitor.

While other TV manufactures were just beginning to identify the 3D trend, Samsung was making a play at its next generations of 3D TVs. Starting with the Samsung 7000 series, Samsung introduced a 1 inch thick LED 3D panel and has since been able to create a .3 inch thick LED 3D panel that includes all the goodies like single touch access to the internet in the 9000 series.

Consumers are increasingly aware of how products get into their hands. Whether they’re checking to see if their eggs are on a recall list or their handbag was made with sustainable materials, green ideas can certainly influence a purchase. That’s why one of the UK’s biggest cell phone providers, O2, has created an eco-index based on sustainability. The program is volunteer based and caught the attention of Samsung and LG, but Apple did not submit the iPhone for evaluation.

O2 conducted a survey that found 44% percent of customers thought that environmental factors would influence their next cell phone purchase. Like any other business that wants to sell more products, O2 got going on a plan to highlight the environmental aspects of each phone they sell.

An abundance of solar energy bombards the Earth every day and that’s a very good thing because it drives the basic functions of life that sustain our existence. Harnessing solar energy for our electrical needs is a natural fit because the process essentially only requires a capture device, which right now typically means solar panels. The problem? Those solar panels can’t continue to collect solar energy if a layer of dust is barricading sunlight from the photovoltaic cells.

It turns out that dust is a pretty universal problem, at least in the Milky Way galaxy, because NASA ran into a similar challenge with trying to use solar panels on Mars for powering rovers and other vehicles. In that instance no human intervention is possible and so scientists developed a self-cleaning technology that repelled dust with a small burst of electric current.

Government officials in the US and UK are facing a similar problem; they’ve got to find a way to trim their budgets. Many have singled out the cost of printing documents as an expense that can be replaced by new technology. If they relied on gadgets like the iPad they could do away with the cost of paper, copy machine maintenance, and the distribution of documents. While some in the US have found success with the iPad, some spots in the UK are facing an uphill battle.

The iPad was an instant hit in Congress due to its ability to store a lot of paperwork, edit legislation on the fly, and catch up on the latest news. Other lawmakers thought that the same ideas could be applied to areas such as the city of Williamsburg, Virginia.

The popularity of e-readers is due in large part to their speedy content delivery. Instead of waiting for a book be shipped or standing at the cash register in a bookstore, e-readers can download the hottest titles in seconds. That factor led a former Amazon employee to start Worldreader, a non-profit that’s distributing e-readers in order to “put a library of books within reach of every family on the planet.”

Apple has been in the walled garden business for a long time with the Macintosh, iPhone and most recently the iPad. In some ways Amazon seems content to follow with its most recent e-reader, the Kindle 3. Both companies are trying to build walls around their customers by offering them unique features, and device features are great but the real long term cost arrives with purchasing e-books. Unfortunately for consumers, prices on e-books are for the most part flat right now – where is the competition?

Connecticut's Attorney General Richard Blumenthal wants to know the answer to that question and he’s asked lawyers from both Apple and Amazon for information on their deals with e-book publishers. The biggest concern revolves around “most favored nation” clauses which block publishers from offering discounts to other e-book distributors.

Pristine beaches and breathtaking views can be the highlight of a vacation. Getting away from it all and reconnecting with nature recharges the soul and reminds us of our roots, but traveling to exotic, untouched parts of the world also contributes to the destruction of those very same beaches and views. Unless traveling by foot, transportation causes pollution. Visitors often trample native plants, introduce invasive species and toss out waste. Resorts contribute to the erosion of local cultures, natural habitats and resources. Ecotourism offers an environmentally responsible way to see the world, as long as you actively seek to reduce your footprint.

Amazon hasn’t had the best relationship with publishers when it comes to e-books. Their insistence on discounting titles and pushing the Kindle have resulted in public spats that included Amazon banning all Macmillan titles from their site earlier this year. It’s no wonder that their new deal with literary super agent Andrew Wylie cuts out publishing houses in favor of a direct relationship with clients that include Salman Rushdie.

It seems all the big time TV suppliers are coming to the table knowing far well where they each will sit in the market. Initially, it was about who could hit the market first with slim LED or plasma TV models, then it was about 3D, and now, once the dust has settled a bit, TV suppliers like Samsung, Sony, Panasonic and Vizio, with recent releases and trends, are wrapping up their niche market with the hopes of becoming the first or the best in those niche areas.

It wasn't all that long ago that a TV was a just TV. Sure, there were slight differences in the product, but the market landscape was nothing like it is today. Now, a consumer has an infinite amount of choices when it comes to things like technology, size, components and features that it make it downright difficult to purchase a TV.

Recent product releases and statistics, however, might help consumers understand where TV suppliers are headed and if it fits the niche the consumer is looking for.

Samsung