#217 - E Recycling

The electronic gizmos that we have become addicted to have a nasty down side.  How do you get rid of them when they break or just get old?   The average US consumer keeps their laptop for only 3 years and their cell phone for only 2 years.  This means there are literally tons of electronics being discarded, many of them still have useful life. 

Electronic devices are a complex mixture of several hundred materials. A mobile phone, for example, contains 500 to 1000 components. Many of these contain toxic heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and beryllium and hazardous chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants. Polluting PVC plastic is also frequently used.  Putting them in a landfill is not a good idea.

There are several ways to recycle.  If the product has useful life there are organizations that will clean them and offer them for resale.  The Salvation Army does this in Covington for PCs.  There are also many organization that will take your old usable cell phone.  You need to ensure that your personal data has been cleaned from the item.  Many electronic items can be restored to their original state without any stored information. Check with the manufacturers web site about restoring to original state.

If the item is broken there are recyclers that will disassemble the device and recover the valuable minerals and properly dispose of the hazardous ones.  Up to 99% of the materials in electronics can be recycled.  Gold, copper and even circuit boards can be melted and then reused in new electronics.  Metals like aluminum and steel can be sent to their own recycling industries.  Most of this recycling produces product that is indiscernible from virgin materials.  Its a win/win process that we should all embrace.

So where can you e-recycle?  Many computer companies, phone companies and many retail stores will take back what you bought from them to recycle.  You just need to ask them about it.  In the Highlands our local recycler, Jackson River Enterprises, has contracted with an e-recycler to come in twice a year to take your electronics.  Still looking for a place to take your stuff?  Try this link:  E-Recyclers!

Just say NO to putting your old electronics into the trash.  The damage to the environment and your health could be serious!

#216 - The week of new phones

Within the last week two of the heavy hitters in cell phones have introduced new flagship phones.  Today Apple unveiled their much anticipated iphone5.  A week ago Motorola Mobility (now owned by Google) introduced 3 new Droid Razr cell phones.  Lets take a look at these new phones and what new technologies they show off.

The new iPhone 5 was probably the worst kept Apple introduction.  Just about every new feature was known before the actual release.  Yes it has a bigger screen, yes it will run on the Sprint & Verizon 4GLTE network (faster Internet), Yes it has a different connector and yes it is made of different material then the other iPhones.  Nicely it will cost the same as the iPhone 4s.  It is thinner and with a new A6 processor it is much faster then the iPhone 4s.  The battery life is 10% better and that is very welcome.  So its an all round better phone.  Is it breakout new?  No, everything changed is evolutionary, not revolutionary.  I'm sure the iPhone users out there will soon put this model in short supply

Motorola Mobility introduced it's first new Droid phones since Google bought the company in May 2012.  The new Razr's are in 3 different price ranges and have a common theme - They are bigger, faster and have the best battery life of any cell phones.   The entry level Droid Razr M has a 4.3 inch (0.3 inches larger then the iPhone5) edge to edge screen.  It is the smallest, in size and weight, 4.3 inch cell phone made today.  Motorola uses their kevlar skin technology to make it the lightest also. Battery life is rated at 20 hours, which is more then most Android Cell phones (iPhone 5 rated at 8 hours).  The other two Razrs introduced are the Razr HD and the Razr HD Maxx.  They both share a 4.7 inch screen (these are BIG phones) with HD (high def 1080p) resolution.  They both have the kevlar skins and superior 4G LTE Internet capabilities.  The claim to fame of the HD series is battery life.  The HD is rated at 24 hours talk time while the Maxx is rated at 32 hours.  Note the iPhone rating above.  People hate to have to recharge their phones or to have a phone die in the middle of a call.  They don't like leaving them plugged in when not in use. These bigger batteries are a new thin technology.   If you are not into the iPhone type phones then I believe these new Droids will be winners.

My Verizon cell phone contract is up in November.  I think I'll take a real close look at the new phones and make a choice from the ones I've discussed today.  Size does matter and I'm not sure I want to wield around a BIG phone no matter what battery life it gets.  If you get one of these phones let me know what you think!