According to Greanpeace, Acer is going to introduce more ecological & green technology in their machines, especially notebooks. They recently debuts two new laptops that have already been praised the the environmentalists.
The two models are Acer Aspire 3811TZ and Aspire 3811TZG which have been designed with extreme energy efficiency in mind, as well as being highly recyclable and biodegradable. These are aimed at nature-concerned crowds exactly. Greenpeace reported a few days ago, which rates PCs and other electronics for their environmental friendliness.
As part of its green initiatives, the two 13.3-inch laptops are built as being completely free of those bad-for-the-environment materials, including PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and BFR (brominated flame retardants). According to Greenpeace, they have been named because of company’s thin-and-light Timeline series.
PVC is a cheap but durable plastic that has been criticized by Greenpeace for not being biodegradable and for emitting toxic substances into the environment. BFRs are chemicals added to plastics to make them more flame resistance, but these have also been accused of leeching into the environment. Their use in products for babies and children has especially concerned many groups. With the exception of the power cables, all components for both Aspires are free of these toxins.
“The chemical characteristics of PVC and BFRs may generate toxic substances like dioxins and furans at products’ end-of-life, therefore, the reduction of PVC and BFRs in Acer products will help protect our environment from being poisoned by electronics goods,” Acer said in a statement.
The new Aspires are also designed to cut energy use–both models can save up to 40% of the energy consumption of traditional notebooks, providing more than 8 hours of battery life, said Acer. Further, the company designed the units to be easily recycled. With more modular parts than in traditional notebooks, users can also extend the life of the Apires by replacing certain components.
Part of Acer’s Timeline series, the two notebooks are targeted as CULVs (consumer ultra-low voltage). These laptops are typically as small and light as Netbooks but deliver greater power and performance with more memory and the use of Intel’s Core 2 Duo processor.
Acer first promised in 2005 to eliminate PVCs and BFRs in all its products by 2009, a goal that the company has yet to achieve. Though Greenpeace has applauded the new Aspire models, the group still gave Acer only a grade of 4.5 out of 10 for environmental friendliness in a report published January 7. The company received a strong A for effort on trying to reduce toxic substances from its computers and monitors. But it scored poorly by Greenpeace for its limited recycling and disposal initiatives.
There doesn’t seem to be an official statement from Acer on availability and price on these models.
Other “green” features of these new Timeline notebooks include:
- Energy Star 5.0 certification
- Modularized design ideal for recycling. Only replace what needs to be replaced reducing waste
No details on specs but one would assume the 3811TZ and 3811TZG are similar to the current 3810 Timeline. Specs to the 3810 include:
- Core 2 Duo SU7300
- Intel GS45 Express Chipset
- Up to 4GB RAM
- Up to 500GB HDD
- 5 in 1 media card reader
- 13.3 inch 1366 x 768 resolution display
- HDMI output
- Gigabit LAN and Wi-Fi
What do you think? Are you willing to pay a little bit more for eco-energy?
Source: CNET.com, GreenPeace.org, GreenPacks.org, enGadget.com, Acer.com
