GreenCells BlogGreenCells Bloghttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010-02-26T00:56:18ZSquarespaceDoes Cold Weather Affect Cell Phones?http://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010/2/25/does-cold-weather-affect-cell-phones.htmlGreenCells2010-02-26T00:55:52Z2010-02-26T00:55:52ZDoes cold weather affect the usefulness or the life of cell phones? Extremely cold temperatures can freeze liquid crystal displays and slow the chemical reaction that gives lithium-ion batteries their charge, but how cold and for how long? 

Popular Mechanics ran some tests recently on several cell phone models to find out. The research showed that our phones are pretty durable when it comes to cold weather exposure. Most of the phones tested did well until extended temperatures reached -30 degrees F. Several shut down, and the others had screen dimming and battery malfunctioning. Only one phone tested, an older Motorola Krzr, made it to -55 degrees F before failing.

The phones all came back to life at higher temperatures and with fresh battery charges. The team tried to kill the Krzr completely by dipping it in liquid Nitrogen. Four dunks in the liquid did the trick. Luckily for most of us, we’re not exposing our phones to this type of exposure. The results of the tests confirmed what most of us in cold-weather climates have experienced in our daily lives – cell phones can survive the cold and usually continue to function as long as it doesn’t get unbearably cold. But who really wants to talk on the phone outside when it is -30 degrees? At these temperatures, maybe we should all just focus on finding a hot fire and a warm beverage to thaw out.

]]>ABCs of SMS: Study Shows Texting Improves Spellinghttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010/2/18/abcs-of-sms-study-shows-texting-improves-spelling.htmlGreenCells2010-02-19T00:50:30Z2010-02-19T00:50:30ZIt might seem counterintuitive, but heavy cell phone texting doesn’t negatively affect a child’s ability to read or spell; in fact, it might actually benefit literacy, according to a recent British Academy study.

According to the research, carried out on a sample of 8- to 12-year-olds, children and teens texting with common abbreviations (LOL, ROFL)—show levels of “textism” that could be used to predict reading ability and phonological awareness. The proportion of text abbreviations used increased with age, indicating that more sophisticated literacy skills are needed for textism, which draws on word play and requires an awareness of how sounds relate to written English.

Good news for our texting youth and those who are concerned texting is contributing to weakening of literacy and spelling.

]]>Cell Phones Go Hand in Hand with Shoppinghttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010/2/11/cell-phones-go-hand-in-hand-with-shopping.htmlGreenCells2010-02-11T12:04:52Z2010-02-11T12:04:52ZMore and more consumers used their cell phones to shop last year, according to a Motorola-sponsored poll of 4,500 shoppers in 11 countries. These consumers used their phones to comparison shop and take photos of items or access online coupons.

Sixty-four percent of consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 used their mobile phones while shopping, and about a third of Baby Boomers, or people over the age of 50, also used cell phones.

Looking ahead, this trend is anticipated to grow, with retailers adapting to survive and thrive, according to a Motorola senior director.

]]>More Americans Resolve to Go Green in 2010http://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010/1/18/more-americans-resolve-to-go-green-in-2010.htmlGreenCells2010-01-18T23:35:43Z2010-01-18T23:35:43ZMore than half of the American population likely made an environmentally focused New Year's resolution, according to a poll released by Tiller Research. Fifty-three percent of American adults are committed to a greener new year, an increase from 49 percent of respondents two years ago.

Many are making ecofriendly efforts as part of day-to-day routines. In fact, almost half of the 1,000 polled by Matthew Greenwald & Associates said they purchased products made by an environmentally or socially responsible company, and at least half said they avoided products thought to potentially harm the environment. Eighty-four percent of respondents said they plan to recycle more.

From recycling to reuse of everything from shopping bags to cell phones—these are easy ways to be ecofriendly . What’s your green resolution for this year?

]]>World’s Networks Going Greenhttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2010/1/13/worlds-networks-going-green.htmlGreenCells2010-01-13T22:46:53Z2010-01-13T22:46:53ZToday’s networks are consuming more energy to meet increasing demand while using more energy than required. A new green consortium has set an ambitious five-year goal of making communications networks 1,000 times more energy-efficient than they are today. Called Green Touch™, this new group effort is led by Bell Labs, with 14 other private operators, as well as several government agencies, already on board.

 The Green Touch initiative represents an industry shift of thinking—from optimizing networks for maximum capacity to optimizing them for energy efficiency. The thousand-fold reduction is roughly equivalent to being able to power the world’s communications networks, including the Internet, for three years using the same amount of energy that it currently takes to run them for a single day. The Initiative aims to deliver a reference network architecture and demonstrations of the key components required to realize this improvement.

Without this turnaround, the industry's energy usage is projected to double over the next 10 years. Bell Labs projects that our global networks can actually be 10,000 times more efficient than they are now.

The trend for building our current communications infrastructure has been to place priority on performance rather than efficiency. Changes like these may raise concerns that at first, this might result in increases in price or even losses in performance.

With movements like this and a conscious effort toward other green options such as reuse, we are well on our way to an eco-responsible future.

The first meeting of the consortium will be in February to address roles, responsibilities, and deliverables for 2010. 

]]>Reuse: Smart, Green, and Growinghttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2009/11/19/reuse-smart-green-and-growing.htmlGreenCells2009-11-20T01:38:51Z2009-11-20T01:38:51ZIt’s a simple fact: not all green is created equal these days. While reuse is sometimes confused with recycling, GreenCells customers know that it is actually the ultimate green choice. Why? For cell phones, reuse not only saves the manufacture of a new phone, it slows the harmful release of pollutants often associated with recycling electronic components. And it comes at a value, yet another benefit of green via reuse. GreenCells customers are buying our eco-friendly phones for half price and taking advantage of can’t-lose offerings like our 360° shipping, year warranty, and trade-in/trade-up program that make reuse a trusted, viable choice.

Saying no to new is now a worldwide trend, according to this year’s National Geographic Greendex study, which shows a rise in reuse in half of the 17 countries surveyed, including America, Canada, and Australia. With cell phones, those choosing to reuse are making the connection that the impact is significant. Everyone’s heard of the 100 million cell phones discarded annually. Each time we choose to extend the life of a cell phone, we slow the product life cycle down. Recent research shows that extending the service life of phones from one to four years decreases the environmental impact by about 40%. So if you’ve made a GreenCells purchase, flaunt your green phone. Reuse is eco-fashion at its best—smart, savvy, and here to stay.

]]>Celebrate America Recycles Dayhttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2009/11/13/celebrate-america-recycles-day.htmlGreenCells2009-11-14T02:04:48Z2009-11-14T02:04:48ZSunday Nov. 15 is America Recycles Day—an occasion that reminds us of the importance of the “three R’s”: recycle, reduce, and reuse.

According to the EPA, more than 100 million cell phones are discarded annually; and, in 2007, only 10 percent were recycled. GreenCells was founded to provide consumers a real alternative to this destructive cycle, by providing a better value through a solution focused on the core principle of environmental stewardship: reuse.

Why is reuse so critical? Reuse extends the life of a product before it gets to the recycling stage. While reuse addresses the challenges of waste reduction, it also supports a productive economy, advances source reduction, results in less hazardous waste, and creates less air and water pollution than making a new item. Finally, reuse creates an affordable supply of quality goods.

Reuse is an important focus of our eco-friendly efforts. Think reuse!

 

]]>The Android’s Coming of Agehttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2009/11/6/the-androids-coming-of-age.htmlGreenCells2009-11-06T19:34:54Z2009-11-06T19:34:54ZThe first Android phone was rolled out in the U.S. only a year ago. With the introduction of different models from a number of manufacturers, the Android’s popularity has exploded. Android recently garnered a lot of attention with Verizon’s aggressive advertising of the debut of their first Android OS phone: the Motorola Droid. As the first handset to feature the Android 2.0 platform, the Droid has increased awareness of the Android OS and its potential.

At the heart of the Android phone experience are proprietary applications like Google Maps, GChat, Gmail, Google Voice and YouTube. Besides these applications, on its own, Android is not a revolutionary OS. Like the iPhone, Android relies on a large selection of applications. Currently, the Android app store has about 12,000 apps, compared to Apple’s recent announcement that the iPhone app store has passed the 100,000 mark.

The key element here is quality not quantity. Many of those apps are, to a great extent, useless. One example is, iBeer for the iPhone. This app will make your screen look like a pint of beer that is fully interactive. This app is clever, but mostly useless. The exciting moment will be when the top 500 apps for the iPhone find their way onto the Android platform, too. As more apps are made available to Android, an increasing number of customers and applications developers will be drawn to the Android.

The potential for the Android platform is substantial, and there has been a lot of talk about the future of the Android platform. Some see Android moving into other platforms such as DVRs, e-book readers, portable music players, and who knows what else. Looking ahead, Android may become a platform of choice for all our portable gadgets, seamlessly connecting us to the “cloud.”

]]>America’s Infatuation with Cell Phoneshttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2009/11/6/americas-infatuation-with-cell-phones.htmlGreenCells2009-11-06T18:53:52Z2009-11-06T18:53:52ZMore and more people are “cutting the cord” to their landlines, relying on cell phones exclusively. According to the International Association for the Wireless Telecommunications Industry (CTIA), 89% of American households have wireless service, with about 20% only using wireless. The wireless industry as a whole is a $151.2 billion industry annually, with 276.6 million wireless subscribers in the United States as of June 2009. Mobile phones have increasingly become a vital part of our lives. Looking back, it is hard to imagine life without our trusty cell phones.

As our lives are increasingly complex, our cell phones are evolving to keep up with our fast-paced lives. Americans use an estimated 2.23 trillion minutes a year and send more than 1.36 trillion SMS messages, according to the CTIA. The bar is raised with each new phone that comes out. Consumers are progressively expecting more advanced features to come standard on their phones.

In the past year, the cell phone industry’s innovations and offerings have embraced a far wider range of eco-friendly options. Nearly half of consumers in the market for cell phones would choose one that is considered green, according to a poll conducted by ABI Research. However, only 7% of respondents said that they'd pay a premium to have a green phone. And if price, features, and performance were equal, 40% of respondents would purchase a green handset. GreenCells offers this green alternative to the never ending creation of cell phones – and does it at a great value so consumers can be both smart and green, getting the latest models for far less.

]]>Verizon Droidhttp://www.greencells.org/greencells-blog/2009/10/19/verizon-droid.htmlGreenCells2009-10-19T19:41:45Z2009-10-19T19:41:45ZA worthy challenge to Apple 's iPhone is finally here, and it’s on the Verizon network. Verizon has just announced the Droid phone, a joint venture among Verizon, Google, and Motorola. The expected release date for the Motorola Droid is around October 30, 2009.

What makes the Droid an attractive adversary to the iPhone is the fact that it has the ability to run multiple apps, has a physical keyboard (also a touch screen) and most importantly, it runs on Verizon’s 3G network. The Droid is powered by Google's Android 2.0.
  
Verizon has released a commercial exploiting the shortcoming on Apple’s iPhone and AT&T’s network. The commercial for the Droid lists several features that the iPhone lacks, such as a physical keypad, taking night shots, running simultaneous applications, supporting open development, and interchangeable batteries. The commercial ends with the tagline “Everything iDon’t, Droid does.”

 

Verizon is also rumored to be getting the Android powered HTC Hero sometime in November.

 

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