Well, they always said the rich are different. For the seriously rich a down-market solar backpack is not going to do – after all the brand is all for the fashion conscious. So if you have big bucks and want to flaunt your wealth and your commitment to the environment, what better way to do it that carry your Ralph Lauren Solar Backpack which will charge you expensive gadgets, including your latest iphone using solar power?

It is made of water resistant fabric, and apart from being carried on your back, it also has a handle which you can use to carry it in your hand. The solar charger needs to be in the sunlight to charge your gadgets, so is good for outdoors in sunny weather, for instance on the beach (okay it may not be your ordinary plebian beach, but where the glitterati are to be found), or a private yacht.

The backpack is available in orange or black, so you may be seriously hampered by the color choices, particularly if you wear color coordinated clothes. It generates 3.5 watts of electricity. With a price tag of $795, this one is meant for those who are seriously in the money.

When you buy a laptop/notebook or any other portable computer, you also have to buy many accessories to go with. As many laptops have vents at odd places, sometimes even at the bottom, it stands to reason that they get very hot. This affects their performance as well. And if you are working for long hours on your laptop, particularly in one place, you really ought to get a laptop stand with built in cooling fans to dissipate the heat. The bamboo laptop stand is eco-friendly as it is made of bamboo which is a sustainable and renewable resource.

Among the bamboo laptop stands are Macally’s Ecofanpro. It comes with two fans which are attached via USB to the laptop and which work to reduce the heat. It also has three adjustable heights, so you can change the height to one which is comfortable for you. It comes in a natural bamboo color so it gives you the warmth of wood as well as reducing the carbon footprint.

The Ecofanpro has mixed reviews. While most people love it, there are some who have had a bad experience with the quality of fans used. If you like bamboo, and your laptop fans work for sometime, great. Otherwise you can always replace the fans quite cheaply and easily.

When you buy an expensive gadget like the new iPad, you will obviously want to keep it safe and protected. It is a fact that peripherals and add-ons add to the cost of the gizmo, but while other add-ons may be optional and depending on your requirements (and pocket), you definitely need a sleeve if you are going to be carrying an iPad around. You probably bought it in the first place, because it is more portable and easy to use.

AireCase has launched a new eco-friendly iPad sleeve which is made from recycled movie banners. Each sleeve is durable, light, flexible and water-resistant. It also has a padded lining to keep your gadget safe. It is a fashion accessory since it comes with movie poster designs, so you can have your favorite movie banner on your sleeve.

Each sleeve is also one of a kind, so you can make your iPad even more exclusive. The iPad sleeves are available in many different colors and designs and you can take your pick at $39 each.

There are many solar chargers which are portable as well, so that you can reduce your dependence on power sources. However, there are times and places where there is no sunlight or not enough to charge any solar panel. Or it may be night and you may have forgotten to put your solar panel device or charger to charge during the day. So then you may be at a loss because of the disconnection. At such times a charger like the Cyclus comes in handy.

Satoshi Yanagisawa came up with using kinetic energy more efficiently with this spring charger. The Cyclus, a bulb shaped device, has a spring mechanism and a DC motor. You rotate the bottom a few times to charge the DC motor which is housed on the top. The 6 volt energy generator produces 3 watts of energy, enough to power small devices for up to half an hour. This green device is not only useful but also helps generate power in small amounts.

It works very simply: if you think about it a spring is coiled tight and when it is released it springs back very past. So when you rotate the bottom the spring tightens in no time – not that you have to hand crank for a long time – and releases energy. It comes with a cord with a USB connector which you attach to the device you want powered. Your device should obviously have USB inlet which can be used for powering

The latest iPad2 has been overwhelmingly successful and quite naturally has spawned a number of accessories for the user. As it is fairly expensive, it needs to be protected. Accordingly, keeping the needs of the user in mind, Hub International has launched HandStand, a holder for the iPad2. This rotates, so you can see the screen in any way you want, landscape or portrait depending on your requirement.

When placed on a flat surface, it is a bit inclined for ease of typing or keyboarding. It holds the iPad firmly and safely so that the device is protected from accidental damage or use. It is comfortable to hold and will not slip from your hands. It also has an elastic strap as and additional safety factor.

The ergonomic design of the case makes it user friendly. The fact that it is made of 100 percent recycled plastics and resin makes it eco-friendly. The different colors it is available in – pink, black and white – makes it a fashion accessory.

Press release:

Houston, Texas – March 30, 2011– Hub International LLC, a company dedicated to developing products that enable people to run their businesses and personal lives more efficiently, is excited to announce its new iPad case compatible with the iPad 2. The sleek yet durable HandStand2 brings Apple fanatics a revolutionary, rotational accessory that allows users to effortlessly spin the device 360 degrees for quick transition from landscape to portrait viewing and back again.

With HandStand2 iPad holder, users can comfortably use the iPad 2 while turning it for optimal viewing and easy manipulation of the touch screen without accidentally launching apps or randomly scrolling. An integrated iPad stand with a slight incline allows for effortless typing when placed on a stable surface.

Other HandStand2 features and functions include:

Rotating Disk – Allows users to effortlessly spin the iPad from landscape to portrait.

Silicone iPad Case – Durable design provides protection for iPad 2 without scuffing.

Integrated iPad Stand – Allows for optimal viewing and comfort while typing during tabletop or desktop use.

Safety Grip – The HandPad provides a solid ridge that conforms to the user’s fingers to prevent slippage.

Elastic Strap – Comfortable one-size-fits-all strap keeps iPad 2 firmly in place, yet easy to slip on and off.

100% Recycled – 100% manufactured in the USA, with all USA material that is 100 % recycled plastics and resin.

“As iPads are make its way into everyday use for work and leisure, we saw the growing need for a solution that enabled it to be carried for long periods of time,” said Jaime Smith, founder of Hub International, LLC. “With analyst expectations that iPads will be the fastest integrated device in enterprise, quicker than PCs, Laptops and Smartphones, it was more important than ever to answer to the corporate need.

Professionals who are using the iPad for work such as Corporate Executives, International Sales, Architects, Designers, Realtors, Educators, Doctors, Nurses and more can now incorporate the HandStand making the iPad easy to hold and protect against damage.”

The protective and durable HandStand2 case comes in pink, black and white for $49.99 and will be available for purchase in early May atwww.thehandstand.com. Receive $10.00 pre-order discount by using the promotional code HANDSTAND2.

We have been hearing for a long time about having a universal charger for all kinds of mobile phones and other gadgets, thus reducing e-waste and the innumerable different kinds of chargers made by different brands and even different models of the same brand. All this was done to make the product unique and sell more chargers (chargers do need to be replaced from time to time, when they blow). Let us not forget that every time a new phone comes into the market, it comes with a different charger.

If all mobile phones, MP3 players, MP4 players, tablet computers, GPS devices, cameras and other gadgets come without chargers and you can simply use one charger for all kinds of devices, do you have any idea how much e-waste will be saved? Using a universal charger will help cut annual greenhouse gas emissions by 13.6m tones, which is what unusable chargers contribute to the environment.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré  said, “Other standards claim to be universal and energy efficient, but only ITU’s solution is truly universal and a real step forward in addressing environmental and climate change issues. This updated standard will bring the benefits of the universal charger to a wider range of devices and consumers.”

As it is a USB device, it will obviate the need for a separate cable to attach to your computer, thus reducing e-waste even further. To add to the eco-friendly factor is that the charger will be made of eco-friendly materials. It will also provide a standard voltage to the charging devices which will be on the higher side to enable faster charging.

Many people like to listen to music when in the bathroom – music has therapeutic powers after all! However, unless your shower/bath area is big, there is a likelihood that any music player that you take inside would get wet. And electric gadgets are best avoided in wet areas.

So if you get a radio which can actually attach to your shower and be powered by it – and it is environmentally friendly as well – wouldn’t that be a great idea? H2O shower power radio, an FM radio, fills the gap. It works on water and does not need electricity or batteries. It has to be connected to the shower hose or pipe and the motion of water flowing through the turbine inside the radio drives the generator which produces energy to power the radio.

Every time the shower runs, the battery gets juiced. Invented by Vivian Blick, the radio is made by Tango Group Ltd. which is UK’s leading Green, Eco Friendly, Alternative Energy product distributor with a wide range of products. It will available for retail sale this month at £34.99.

Many of the new technologies are going wireless as opposed to wired. Fulton Innovation has come out with a range of chargers which work by magnetic induction. This technology called, eCoupled, can be used to run anything without annoying cables. This wireless charging technology also means that whatever you are running becomes environmentally friendly, because if the device does not detect any devices, it will not draw any power, so you can save power.

The technology can be used in the home, in the office, during travel and even in cars. At the CES this year, the Tesla Roadster was on display. It was charging wirelessly, without any engine modification required. And the wireless charging is 80 percent efficient as compared to 87 percent when wired, a very small difference. Inductive charging time can also be reduced if the voltage is increased.

The applications of this kind of technology are immense. For instance, a parking lot can be turned into a charging station. In the kitchen you can run your gadgets wirelessly. Even smartphones can be charged wirelessly. The retrofit kits can be installed any where convenient. Within a month or thereabouts many big manufacturers are coming out with mobile phones which can be charged using the eCoupled technology.

Legendary singer Bob Marley left behind more than his music. The House of Marley, which is owned by family members, manufactures many eco-friendly music accessories which were shown at the CES in Los Angeles early this year. The gadgets are made of sustainable materials like bamboo, wood, leather, recycled aluminum and hemp. The wood has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Among the devices are headphones in bright colors and eye-catching designs are headphones, earbuds, iPod docks, portable speakers and more. There are 20 different models and styles of earbuds alone in their catalog.

What’s more when you buy Marley products you are directly contributing to the environment and some of the sale proceeds will also go to 1Love.org, an organization formed with the Marley family that supports ’charities that empower people to take action for sustainable and responsible living.’ While the products are going to hit the shelves later this year, they can be preordered from thehouseofmarley.com.

Most people use a mouse with their desktop computers, if not with their laptops, and these devices have a life, after which they have to be replaced. As most of these gadgets are made of plastics they end up in landfills and add to environmental pollution. So if you were to get a mouse which is eco-friendly, it would reduce your carbon footprint.

Fujitsu M440 is touted as the world’s most eco-friendly mouse. It is completely biodegradable, being made from lignin, starch and natural resins. The eco-friendly mouse works on nearly every surface. It features two buttons and one scroll wheel button. It has an optical sensor and PVC free cable. It is also USB plug and play, so compatible with most systems.

However, there is some concern that all parts of the mouse cannot be biodegradable, particularly electronic components. Still, it is more eco-friendly than a regular mouse.