Unplggd: Green Laptops

As with green PCs, there isn’t much information available about the how environmentally friendly your current laptop is, but with a bit of digging, you can find out a lot about your next one. While going green is great, you also have to think about how long you’ll be able to use your next laptop. If you can keep it an extra year, you’ll not only save money but also keep the environment cleaner by consuming less. Below is the Asus Bamboo laptop.

1. Lenovo ThinkPad L420: Lenovo states that the ThinkPad L420 is their greenest laptop yet, and that’s a bold statement from the PC laptop giant, as their ThinkPad X301 was very eco-friendly. The L-series laptops are made from 30% post-consumer recycled content. The green-ness also affects your bottom line, as this laptop is supposed to save you 40% on operating costs alone. It has an LED-backlit display and power manager. It includes energy certifications from ENERGY STAR and attains the EPEAT Gold standard. The packaging is recyclable and there’s 20% less of it to go to waste.

2. Acer TravelMate TimelineX: Acer does its bit by displaying information about the eco-friendliness of their laptops very visibly. The TravelMate TimelineX meets EPEAT Silver, RoHS, WEEE, and ENERGY STAR standards to protect the environment.
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Unplggd: Power Bags

We recently covered solar powered ways to charge your devices, but what if you have multiple devices? Or you need to charge something but you’re on the go? You can charge as you go with these electrified bags, some even without the power of the sun. The other bonus is that you’ll get even more surface area (and thus more juice) if it is solar powered sense the whole bag can be a panel.

Powerbag This is a soon-to-be-released (this month) project that comes as a backpack, a sling or even a tablet bag. It’s got a built-in, rechargeable 3000 mAh or 6000 mAh battery (depending on the model) that can be plugged into a standard wall outlet. Plus it detects when a device is connected to one of its four ports. It’ll be available at Best Buy, OfficeMax, FYE, and other retailers.
$139.99

V-dimension Optical Messenger Bag This bag has a ton of adapters: iPod/iPhone, mini-USB, Samsung, LG, Nokia, and Motorola. Cell phones charge in about 2 hours and the battery will hold up to 2 full charges. It also has space for a 15.4″ laptop and a bunch of other pockets to stash your stuff. The solar panel is relatively small compared to the other bags on this list but it’s got plenty of adapters on the other end so if you’ve got a wide range of devices this might be your best bet.
$129.95

Juice Bags These are made by Reware and contain removable, water resistant solar panels. They come in backpack, messenger, beach tote, briefcase and daypack (slightly small than backpack). It’s also made of recycled 2-liter bottles so if green’s your thing there’s a good chance this bag is for you. The only odd thing is that it uses a female car charger adapter so if you want to charge your stuff you’ll have to use the car parts. That means it’s less limited, however, sense they make car chargers for just about everything.
$199-$399

Samsonite Solar Laptop Messenger/Backpack These two bags are made by the luggage/bag maker Samsonite and luckily carry their famous warranty. It’s also made from recycled PET plastic and uses a female adapter like the Juice Bags, but has somewhat of a lower profile if you’re concerned about having things stolen. The solar panel putts out 4.5 watts and the bag accommodates a 15″ laptop.
$134.99

DIY Solution
We always like to provide a way for you to get it on the cheap, and this is no exception. NPR actually ran an article on this subject and as usual Instructables has a few ways of making them. If you’re making one be sure to consider how many things you need to charge and all the ports they require.

By Jeff Heaton