Cars are getting greener all the time, but still nothing compares to the good ol’ bicycle. Unfortunately, most bikes don’t come with nearly as many cool gadgets as most cars or trucks. GPS, Speedometers, Clocks, Radios, all cool gadgets that motorists enjoy and bicyclists often have to deal without.

Sure, we can all claim we don’t need these extra gadgets, but I doubt the average bicyclists would turn them down if they were available. Well, if some extra gadgets sound good to you, your prayers have been answered.

This is the Cerevellum, and ultra-cool information center for your bike. It provides many of the features available on a car, but all in a small package easily attachable for your bike (just be sure to lock it up! This thing would be quite attractive to thieves).

The Cerevellum “base unit” is a mini-computer that would attach to your handlebars, you can then attach up to 4 different modules using the base unit’s 4 USB connections.

So what features can you get with the Cerevellum? There are 6 different modules that can be added to the base unit.

Hindsight is one of the coolest modules. It brings the rear-view mirror on a car to your bike. Hindsight includes a small camera that is placed either on your handlebars (facing backward) or on the back of your bike. It feeds information to the base-unit, and a live video feed from behind your bike is displayed on the base unit’s screen.

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If you love to read you’ve no doubt noticed all the paper used. One cord of wood (about 2 tons) makes under five-hundred 200 page books.  Hell, Chapters is basically a tree slaughterhouse!

Of course, your environmental concerns shouldn’t stop you from reading, so why not try an e-book instead?

e-books, if you’re not familiar, are full copies of a novel, but electronic. Available for download from many websites, e-books can be viewed on your computer, or on a portable e-book reader. These readers hold hundreds of books and feature large screens which give your an experience similar to a traditional book.

Just recently released, the Amazon Kindle is one of the best on the market. The Kindle holds 200 titles, and weighs only 10.3 ounces. It has fantastic battery life as well, on a 2 hour charge it will last over a week!

What’s even more interesting about this device is the wireless connectivity. There’s no syncing with your computer to get books on the Kindle, you can use the wireless EVDO network to get connectivity anywhere you go, just like a cellphone. Once you’re online, you can shop the Kindle store directly on the device and download new titles to the hard drive. Pretty simple.

The Kindle store has over 90,000 titles, including most of the New York Times’ best sellers. It also features content from over 250 of the internet’s top blogs, including The Onion and Slashdot. Most books from the Kindle store are $9.99, although the prices do vary. You can also download free preview chapters!

What’s even better? This wireless connectivity is 100% free. The EVDO network, which is usually quite expensive when used on your cellphone, is delivered to the Kindle by amazon for free. Nice touch.

If you already own some e-books or want to view other pictures or documents on the Kindle, you can simply email then to the device and you’re ready to go, that wireless connectivity sure seems to come in handy.

The Kindle is a bit expensive at $399, although the books are a lot cheaper than paperbacks, and it seems a lot more convenient than bringing a bunch of books everywhere. The wireless connectivity is a nice touch too.

You can the Kindle directly from Amazon.

So get yourself an e-book reader, get some e-books, and help save the trees. Don’t let your environmental concerns get in the way of your reading!

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Well well well, Sony is stepping up and starting to really get into green technology. They started with the sugar battery back in August, and now comes the Twirl-N-Take, and as cheap as it looks, it’s a pretty cool idea.

The twirl-n-take is a green-powered camera. That is, it doesn’t use batteries for power. That strange looking circle on the top is actually how you generate the camera’s power.  Spinning it for 10-15 seconds is enough for one picture, then spin it again and snap away.

No word on the quality of the pictures yet, or how many pictures it can hold… or when/if you’ll be able to get it or how much it will cost, but this is one of those super-cool Japanese products us North Americaners are sorely missing out on.

Anyway, it’s great to see a tech giant getting more into green technology, and while spinning a wheel for 15 seconds might not be the most convenient, at least they’re thinking. It’s a pretty innovative design.

Keep it up Sony!

via GreenDaily, Product-Reviews.net

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Hippyshopper is giving away a 16gb iPod touch on their website. All you have to do is take a short survey, and you’ll be entered. Pretty easy, why not?

Head on over and take their survey, and if you do win, be sure to get a green-power charger to go along with it!

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Computers and circuit boards aren’t that great for landfills, as they actually contain a whole bunch of harmful chemicals.

So why not keep all your precious family memories in them instead?

This photo album is made from recycled circuit boards for the front and back covers. It’s like some wonderful invention from the future!

This photo album will keep your photos from getting lost and damaged, and it’ll show both your geeky side and your green side at the same time.

You can also buy individual frames made from recycled circuit boards , you know, just so they match.

Photo Album is $16.95 from Acorn Studios.

Photo Frames are:

£4.49 (about $10 CAD) for small.

£5.99 (about $12 CAD) for medium.

and £7.99 (about 17 CAD) for large.

all from Revolve.

via GreatGreenGoods (photo album,  photo frames)

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This has got to be the ultimate in portability. The Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player does everything your iPod does, and much more.

This media player does the basic functions: plays music, videos, and FM radio  (which is nice).

It also has something many people have come to use their iPod for: a flashlight. It has a high intensity LED light that will illuminate a fairly large area, fast and easy.

It can also record sounds and songs with a digital line-in jack. It records to MP3 with 64k,128k, or 192k bitrates.

It also functions as an ebook reader, mobile phone charger, photo viewer, and a data storage device. Just to start.

But here’s the kicker,  you can run it off the built-in battery, or charge it with a built in crank! So wherever you go, this MP3 player will have power.

While I know Apple claims ridiculous battery life on their iPods, mine still always seems to run out of juice. Having a crank would come in quite handy I imagine!

You can buy the Trevor Baylis Eco Media Player for £134.99 (about $280 CAD) from ethicalsuperstore

 via EcoStreet

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What do you do when you need a tiny device, but the batteries  you’d need to charge it are too big? Use solar power!

Not only will James Bond be able to snap secret spy pictures, but he’ll never have to worry about stopping to replace the batteries in the middle of a secret mission.

But really… this is a pretty cool product. The pen has a small camera in it that can wirelessly transmit photos to a nearby device (like this digital media player).

So if you’re planning any top secret missions in the near future, or you’re just a sucker for a super-cool gadget, this might be for you.

You’ll have to bust out the big bucks though, this spy-cam will cost you $332, but just think of all the money you’ll save in tiny spy batteries!

via EcoGeek

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If you think solar power is the new high-tech method of generating power, it’s been around for a while.

Back in 1956 General Electric developed a solar powered radio that uses only 4 transitions, 7 solar cells, and weighs only 10 ounces. Did I mention is can last a whopping 8 months in total darkness? This radio will also charge from a 100 watt lightbulb. Is it just me or does this beat almost all of the current solar-power solutions?

Okay, so we have more energy-sucking devices today, but it’s hard not to be amazed by such an elegant device.  Quite impressive. It’s a shame you can’t still buy these, it would be a great addition to emergency kits, providing reliable access to information without having to worry about expired or dead batteries.

via EcoFriendlyInfo

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So your running late, havn’t eaten breakfast, and you’re incredible jealous at the (usually awkward) way drivers get to eat in their car while you’re off saving the environment on a bicycle. It happens, but it shouldn’t deter you from biking to wherever you have to go.

Well never be jealous of your emissions-emitting friends and their space for breakfast again! Meet the  BikeFast Tray. It’s a tray that snaps onto the front of your bike, giving you convenient space for your breakfast while you’re on your bike.

It has a spot for food, and a cup-holder for your fair-trade coffee. Bike Design mentions the obvious problem here though: wouldn’t wind blow your breakfast away? It would seem likely, and I would agree a shield on some-kind would be a great addition, but this is only a concept anyway.

Still, some great creative thinking went into this design, and something like this would be a pretty cool addition for those time-deprived environmentalists on their way to work. It sure beats one of those girly baskets!

via Bicycle Design

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Toshiba has announced it’s next-generation rechargeable battery, the Super Charge Ion  Battery, or SCiB.

Intended for use in electric vehicles, the SCiB can chage to 90 minutes in a blazing fast 5 minutes! It can handle plenty of recharging as well, losing only about 10% of it’s capacity after 3,000 recharges.  NiMH batteries, by comparison, only last about 500-1000 charges¹.

Toshiba is positioning these batteries for use in electric vehicles, mentioning electric bikes, electric motorcycles, construction machinery, and fork lifts specifically. They do plan to reach electric cars eventually as well.

The extra capacity for these batteries is fantastic, but the fast recharge rate is really the key here. A big concern for electric vehicles is charging time, with a traditional gas-powered car you can simply fuel up in 5 minutes and you’re ready to go. With the SCiB charging in 5 minutes, a stop at an electric “gas” station would be almost the same experience as what we have today, of course, it would be a lot more environmentally friendly!

We should see the SCiB hitting the market next year.

via AutoBlogGreen

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