Apple tablet to be more eco-friendly?
The Apple logo is applied to the exterior of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in California in preparation for the product unveiling.
Apple is set to unveil a new product today (27th January): there are rumours that it will be a keyboard-less tablet device.
The company's latest offering will be revealed at 18:00 GMT, putting an end to the internet frenzy seen in the past few weeks on media and technology blogs which have been speculating what the product could be.
Current money is on a tablet device, a slate-like computer which traditionally bridges the gap between smartphones and laptops.
Writing on cNet news, Martin LaMonica said the device, which is yet unnamed, could be better for the environment that traditional computers.
It is expected that the new product will act like an e-reader, similar to the way books and newspapers are displayed on the Amazon Kindle.
According to Mr LaMonica, this could reduce the number of trees which are cut down, but he cautions that without electronics recycling, the device may not reduce people's environmental footprint.
Apple has phased out the use of PVC plastic and hazardous brominated flame in its latest products and Mr LaMonica said he expects this policy to be continued with the tablet, helping make it a greener product.
He added that Apple's take-back programme for batteries and the possibilities that the new product will require less energy to run and have a longer shelf-life could also help make the product more eco-friendly.
In 2009, all Apple Mac notebooks and desktops earned the Electronic Product Environment Assessment Tool (EPEAT) gold status.
EPEAT is an assessment of product environmental attributes, covering not only energy efficiency but also material efficiency and toxin reductions.
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Comments
i like the portrait style of the ipad - my macbook can never give me enough vertical room on the screen so needs constant scrolling. but i also love books and i hate the idea of virtual books superceding my shelves of much-loved and well-thumbed novels. support your local bookshop i say! and in the meantime, surely you can make do with an iphone and a macbook?
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