Consumer Electronics Show – Signature9

The Greenest Lap Tops of 2010: In the Green

Vanessa Quirk — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 10:45:32 +0000

Choosing a laptop nowadays is about as easy as finding love in the big city – it’s confusing, overwhelming, and so frustrating that you eventually end up settling for whichever one seems least likely to implode.

Well, my fellow greeniacs – why not let your environmental and ethical compass guide you? Check out this guide to buying eco-friendly laptops, and refer toÂ our picks for the trendiest and greenest laptops you should be using in 2010.

Sony Vaio W, $450.

With a plastic casing made from recycled CDs, a carrying-case from old water bottles, and an exclusively digital manual, the Vaio W (premiered at CES 2010 last week) is a mini notebook with a lot of green power. The device has not only gotten high ratings from Energy Star 5.0 and EPEAT, but it also has aÂ 10.1 inch LED screen (which uses less energy than an LCD screen) and 7 hours of battery life. At $450, this may not be a lap top for the technologically inclined, but it’s definitely a great fit for a person for whom portability, durability, and eco-friendliness are key.

Read More {CNet}
Read More {Ecofriend}
Read More {Inhabitat}
Read More {Sony}

Apple’s Macbook Air, $1,499.

An oldy, but a goody. The Macbook Air may have been on the scene since 2008, but it remains one of the few high-performance, environmentally sound laptops on the market. Rated as the Greenest Ultraportable by LapTop Mag, the Macbook Air not only offers all the goodies you except from an Apple computer, but it also has environmental chops to spare. It’s energy-efficient, it’s recyclable, it’s manufacturing is almost toxin-free, and…it’s a Mac. Enough said.

Asus Bamboo Series, $999 (Rumored)

While Asus premiered a brand new, environmentally friendly laptop at CES this year… it was… well, it was hot pink.

And while we love our Barbie colors as much as the next gal, we’re still really digging the stylish sophistication and renewable natureÂ of Asus’ Bamboo Series, which has now been amped up with Intel’s latest CoreÂ i5 Â processors. Plus, randomly enough, it’s the first netbook to “have survived the unforgiving conditions of snow-capped Qomolangma Peak, which stands at a staggering height of 8,848 meters (29,028 feet).” Yup, I’m a PC and I’m made from kick-ass, snow-defeating bamboo. Take that Mac.

Toshiba PortÃ©gÃ© M750, $1, 499

This one swivels. Cooooooool.

Ok, ok. Beyond its cool, swivveling netbook to tablet capabilities and an LED backlit display – this bad boy has its fair share of Eco-friendly badges of honor. Toshiba came in as the #3 Greenest Electronic Company of 2009 (according to Green Peace’s Rankings) – and the Portege is one of the companies eco-friendliest (reaching EPEAT’s Gold Standard). If you’re looking for the greenest tablet of the land – or just one which sounds more like a briefcase than a computer – look no further than the PortÃ©gÃ©.

Read More {Toshiba}
Read More {GreenPeace}

CES Goes Fashion Forward

YM Ousley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:17:35 +0000

Lady Gaga, Jason Wu, Vivienne Tam. No, we’re not talking about Fashion Week, but the latest collaborations to come out of CES.

Lady Gaga for Polaroid (L) and the Gaga designed Monster Heartbeats earbuds

Known for their HDMI cables, tech manufacturer Monster has paired with Lady Gaga and Vivienne Tam for fashionable headphones. The Gaga designed Heartbeats earbuds are part of a special collection for (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition Beats Solo Headphones released under the Beats by Dr. Dre label.

Vivienne Tam, a geek chic veteran with a successful HP collaboration under her belt, will also release limited edition headphones with pricing and details announced during this February’s Fashion Week.

Also being released at fashion week is a point and click camera manufactured by General Imaging in partnership with First Lady design favorite Jason Wu.

Not to be outdone, the extravagant Lady Gaga’s other CES gig was announcing the relaunch of Polaroid, fashion’s favorite camera. Appointed creative director (which we see going much more smoothly than the Ungaro/Lohan pairing) for specialty products, Gaga will presumably have a hand in resurrecting the instant cameras that were discontinued last year.

The pop star has reportedly overspent by $3.2 million on her Monster Ball Tour, despite every show being sold out. As her father puts it, she now has a “real job” to put a dent in the debt.

Tweet Tweet: Ford Announces Car Tweeting Technology

YM Ousley — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 15:02:07 +0000

Ford CEO Alan Mulally announced the world’s first tweeting car at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. If you just can’t find a radio station that’s annoying enough, you’ll soon be able to listen to a stream of messages as you drive. We’re filing this innovation under the “not sure about this” category. Initially, the audio tweets will be one way only: AAA, and presumably someone with foresight on the Ford team have decided that two-way tweets would be too much of a distraction and present a safety concern, though the possibility of audio replies haven’t been ruled out for the future. Do you really want to share your road rage with everyone?

We’re all for advances in technology, but this seems like the next installment in the texting while driving PSAs waiting to happen.

In less likely to cause a car crash innovation news, it was also announced that drivers would be able to stream music from popular music service Pandora and Stitcher, a service that streams podcasts, radio shows and news.