How to recycle mobile phones?
May 21, 2010
You wake up one fine morning looking forward for a hot cup of coffee only to be met with a severe cramp that runs along your back. You look about and there, under the coverlet are discarded mobile phones – you’ve been sleeping over them all night! Shoving them away, you reach the doors to fetch the day’s milk. But en route, you step over more of them – they seem to be everywhere! The kitchen is so full of them as well – an old Nokia 1100 on the table, a cast-off Samsung Lucido in your kettle and your fridge – it’s got old mobile phones crawling all over it.
Flabbergasted, you open the dresser, but the thing spews out an avalanche of conked out handsets. You run out to the streets in your pajamas and lo! The whole of London is engulfed in a Brobdingnagian mass of discarded mobile phones. People are running about wide-eyed – your city has sunk in to a pernicious mobile mass. What now?
Now that’s some yarn, huh? But folks, if we don’t recycle our mobile phones, it is possible that the darn things could gobble us up one day– there are that many of them. According to the Guardian, nearly 15 million mobile phones are discarded in the UK alone each year – now that’s a staggering enough number, but only 4% of them are being recycled.
But why should mobile phones be recycled in the first place?
Nokia says that 100% of the materials in the phone can be recovered to make products such as musical instruments, park benches and what not. Isn’t is worth your while to put your unused mobile phone to good use? Also, if you choose to be plain right lazy and dump it down the garbage can, you will be harming the environment a great deal. So, how to recycle mobile phones? It’s quite simple actually.
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Method 1:
If you own a Nokia mobile phone, all you have to do is take it to your nearest dealer. But of course, there are a few things that you’ll have to do before doing so. Make sure that you have a back-up of all your contacts, photos, email, documents etc. Remove all your personal information from it, remove the sim cards and memory cards if any. After you’re sure that the handset does not have even the tiniest traces of you in it, walk to your nearest Nokia dealer. Read more about recycling a Nokia mobile phone. Sony Ericsson and Motorola also allow for such mobile phone recycling schemes. |
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Method 2:
There are a horde of mobile phone recycling websites available in the world wide web. These sites can take your old mobile phones in exchange for cash (Certain mobile phones can fetch you as much as £400!)– so you not only do your bit to save the environment, but make your purse bigger as well. Here are a few sites that provide mobile recycling schemes: |
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Method: 3
You can also help raise funds for charity using your mobile phone. Here are a few sites that do so: |
Nokia 1100 – The Smartest among the not so smart phones
April 29, 2010
The mobile phones of today, I mean SMARTphones come loaded with innumerable applications that promise to keep the user tied up 24×7. We can use them to browse the Web, capture photos and HD video, navigate, create documents and presentations, read e-books, watch moves and what not – the list is staggering. But we’re forgetting something basic here – calling and texting. Aren’t mobile phones primarily meant to make calls and texts? Well, at least for some they are.
Among the not so large collection of humble, entry-level mobile phones that are built to just do what mobile phones were initially designed for, the Nokia 1100 stands tall and strong, smiling sure-footedly. This modest mobile phone was the first ever handset for many across the world. It was cheap, looked nice and did what it was supposed to do perfectly.
In case you forgot, the Nokia 1100 is a GSM mobile phone with SMS messaging with predictive text, sealed keypad, vibration alert, torch, calculator, stopwatch and non-slip sides. When it was initially launched in 2003, people flocked around with passion and it sold like hot cakes, no chocolate-dripping doughnuts. Over 200 million them have been sold till date and the 1100 is presently the world’s best selling mobile phone as well as the world’s best selling consumer electronics product. The handset made Nokia a household name and took it deep in to the developing nations of the world.
People who couldn’t even dream of owning a mobile phone could think of buying one, thanks to the 1100. The mobile phone was known for its notorious battery life – it could be in stand by for even up to two weeks. Even though it was not an out-and-out rugged phone, it was known to be sturdy and tough. There are a few of these handsets that are still going strong in some parts of the world whose owners simply don’t have the heart to part with.
Though discontinued, the Nokia 1100 remains close to the heart of many users as well as Nokia. The 1100 is the Finnish telecommunications corporation’s one billionth phone to be sold. There even is a Nokia 1100 Fanclub! To all the surviving Nokia 1100s and those sleeping in landfills – we have something to say: You’re the smartest of all the not so smart phones in today’s world. We salute you!
What’s with mobile phones and teenagers anyway?
April 22, 2010
For fifteen year old Adrian, life under the constant glare of his parents and teachers is a nightmare. He feels he’s always being watched – the minute he steps out of his room in the morning till he steps back inside at night, a pair of eyes seem to follow him around. If you try to talk to him, all he’ll do is curl his lips and snarl. Why wouldn’t he when the most important thing in his life has been snatched away for good?
A few weeks back, the kid wouldn’t even look anyone in the eye for a full minute. All he cared about was his beloved friend, his mobile phone. His head would eternally be bent over the screen of the device, he neither has the time for a proper meal nor for a proper conversation. Noticing his apparent addiction to the device, it was taken way for ‘his own good’ according to his mother. He was now under constant supervision, ‘just to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid’.
Adrian’s case is nothing new. In fact, several teenagers of today have had their mobile phones confiscated for their ‘addiction.’ What have mobile phones done to today’s teenagers? We have several studies to prove that they have done and are doing more bad than good. Take Washington-based Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, for example.
As part of the project, about 800 kids aged 12 to 17 were surveyed along with their parents over mobile phones and landlines from June to September last year. And the results were obvious – “The mobile phone has become the favored communication hub for the majority of American teens.” Here are it’s highlights:
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75% of the teenagers surveyed owned mobile phones. -
88% of teenage mobile phone users are text-messagers.
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One in three teenagers send over 100 text messages a day, which is 3000 per month.
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15% of teen text messagers send over 200 text messages per day, which equates to 6000 messages per month.
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While boys send and receive an average of 30 texts per day, girls send and receive 80 a day.
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For many teenagers, voice is primary mode of conversing with parents.
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Teenagers who own mobile phones make far too less calls than text messages.
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Girls outperform boys when it comes to mobile phone usage – 86% of girls message their friends several times in a day while only 64% of boys do so.
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While 59% of girls make frequent calls using their mobile phones in a day, only 42% of boys do so.
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64% of parents look at the content of their kid’s mobile phone and 62% have taken away their kid’s handsets as punishment.
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98% of parents say that the main reason their kid owns a mobile phone is so that they can always be in touch no matter where they are.
Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist at Pew said that mobile phones provided a sense of safety which was what everyone loved. Teenagers take comfort in the thought that they can be reached immediately in case of an emergency.
“But teens also talk about the burden of the expectation of being constantly connected because you’re connected to your parents by this electronic leash, or your friends’ expectations that you are supposed to respond no matter what time of day or night.” said she. When asked why not just turn off their phones, Amanda said the collective reply was “looks of horror.” Kids today couldn’t even dream of such a thing.
Microsoft KIN Mobile Phones – A Sneak Peek
April 14, 2010
Keeping its fingers crossed, Microsoft has launched a new range of KIN mobile phones. Hoping to win over some part of the huge chunk of market share that Apple and Google gobbled up, Microsoft has seemingly given its best in to these mobile phones that have been manufactured by Sharp. Inside though, the Kin phones have a Microsoft soul with the software giant controlling the software and the online services.
The Kin range of mobile phones consist of Kin One and Kin Two, both of which are loaded with features that tightly embrace social-networking. The One is the one (no pun intended!) that has the most interesting form factor. It is shaped like a rounded cobblestone with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. Kin Two on the other hand, is rectangular with a slide-out QWERTY like the horde of smartphones in the market today.
Kin One has a 5MP camera while Kin Two has an 8MP one that’s capable of recording HD video. Both devices have 3G connectivity and also support GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth. While the phones look good enough externally, Kin software is what is thought to be the primary attraction. Kin Loop is the home screen that is similar to Motoblur, giving you updates from all the social networking sites and more in one place.
Kin Spot, another aspect of the software also sounds really amazing. It’s a one stop spot where you can share just about anything – pictures, videos, messages, you name it. All you have to do is drag and drop what you wish to share and send it to as many people as you wish in one go. Kin Studio is a service that lets you store back-ups of all your files so that you don’t lose them even if your phone gets lost. Both these devices sport the Zune media player, so if you have a Zune Pass, unlimited access to Microsoft’s entertainment platform is assured.
These juicy handsets are to be launched in the US on Verizon Wireless this summer, while those in the UK will have to wait till autumn. It looks like Vodafone will be launching the Microsoft mobile phones else where in Europe. As far as first impressions go, Microsoft Kin mobile phones have done great. Will they give other big fish a run for their money?
For more information, check out the KIN Website
Why should you buy an iPad?
April 7, 2010
The iPad is going to be launched in the UK on April 23. No, we mean April 24. Or perhaps April 26? Or what if Apple decides to put off the UK launch for sometime next month? Every nook and cranny of the world wide web seems to be stuffed with iPad paraphernalia. Now, for those of you who are wondering if you should actually buy the darn thing (and those who are scratching your head in front of the computer wondering if you should pre-order it,) we have a few things to say.
The iPad’s scoring points:
- It’s multi-touchscreen interface that is simply too easy to play around with – pinch, flip, swipe, poke or stretch – it gives in with ease.
- The user interface is extremely easy to use – Why wouldn’t it when it’s a bigger version of the iPhone?
- Viewing web-pages using it’s 9.7” screen is a breeze – pages resize themselves to fit the screen. So browsing using the iPad is nothing short of fun.
- iBooks, iPad’s e-reader application is simply superb. You can download books all you want and relish them in the tablet’s screen. Well, you could even end up so immersed that you forget that the thing in your hand is not a paperback. It’s true, iPad’s e-reader is the best ever. It certainly could give the Amazon Kindle night-mares.
- iWork suite is another of the iPad’s scoring points. It’s simply a set of tools that can make your work easier and faster. Preparing a presentation using the iPad will definitely be easier than a laptop.
What it lacks..
- First and foremost, the most striking deficiency of the iPad is that it does not support multi-tasking. So you can forget about listening to your favourite tracks while browsing.
- It does not support Adobe Flash, which again is a big draw back. The black squares in certain web pages tend to get on your nerves after a point of time.
- There’s no webcam – so you can’t even dream of video chats.
- The e-reader though appearing to be too perfect to complain on first sight, a few hours with it could leave you with puffy eyes – we’re not entirely convinced of the clarity.
The iPad as we know does more than our average smartphone – but hey, I’m not saying this with my whole heart. There are times when you feel that the iPhone is better. But when you get to hold the sleek device, feel the glassy touchscreen, read a few pages and type a few lines, you’re sure as rain going to fall in love with it. That’s the magic of Apple.
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