Low cost iPhone, Cell Phone, and portable electronics Solar Chargers with batteries are now available for under $40.  Leave it out in the Sun to charge, then use it when you are out of power. iPod, iPhones, BlackBerry’s, Kindles all eat batteries fast. Solar Panels charge and maintain 1400 mAh of battery power present in this unit.  Full Solar Charging takes from 5-7 hours. Most units have USB connectors to charge various devices like the Nintendo DS game console.

Be green and use the sun’s energy to power your gadgets.

Some new cell phone and gadget chargers even have a mini windmill and a solar panel.

Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750

Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 is a new computer keyboard that is solar-powered. This wireless keyboard makes battery hassles a thing of the past. It even works indoors with your lamp’s light. It also stays charged for at least three months in total darkness.

Iqua BHS-603 Sun Solar Powered Bluetooth Headset

Iqua BHS-603 Sun Solar Powered Bluetooth Headset solar panel that provides theoretically infinite standby time. An eco-friendly Bluetooth headset at a low price, that rarely needs charging is a useful gadget we all can use.

Solar Powered Bluetooth Cell Phone Speakerphone

solChat is a new solar powered Bluetooth speakerphone that attaches to your car’s winshield or visor for safe and convenient handsfree conversations. It is green because it continuously re-charges and it frees your hands from holding a phone. Everyday we see people driving with phones in their hands, even though it is against the law. The reviews indicate that the solar charging really works. The solchat sells for about $61.99 with free shipping.

Personal Energy Generator

nPower introduced this cool new environmentally friendly, portable way to recharge your handheld electronic devices including your cell phone, MP3 player, PDA, digital camera, and GPS.

Put it in your backback, then it charges devices using electricity generated as you walk or run around. It will cost about $99. Perfect for cell phones. Ships in a couple months. Wish it was a little cheaper. Someday, tech like this will be built into gadgets.

The nPower PEG personal energy generator is placed in your backpack or purse or belt strap and generates energy as you walk, hike, or bike. The energy is stored in a battery and allows you to charge up your cell phone or mp3 player, etc. Exercise to lose weight and generate energy too! One drawback is that it costs $159.99.

K3 Wind and Solar Mobile Charger generated clean energy and saves it to its internal battery.  It charges mobile phones, iPods/Mp3 players, PDA’s, GPS and Digital Cameras and a fully charged K3 will charge a Blackberry or iPhone 5 times.  At $89, it is an expensive way to go green.

One of the most interesting dad-endorsed gadgets is the Solar Powered Battery Backup by Scosche Solar Products. The device (no bigger than a cell phone) is equipped with a 1500ma lithium-ion battery that stores power for when you need it and recharges from the sun (or the USB cable included). Perfect for charging iPods, iPhones, Blackberry, and cellphones, use your existing USB cable to charge your devices. For less than $20, the battery backup also comes with a windshield cradle and universal carabiner mount.

Self Powered, Foldable, Green Powered Speaker

Origaudio makes a unique green self powered speaker that is foldable. No need for any batteries, ac adapters, etc! It is also made out of Recycled Materials, comes in a variety of designs, and costs less than $19.99.

Samsung Blue Earth Eco Friendly Cell Phone

Samsung launched a new eco friendly Blue Earth cellphone that is made from old water bottles and has a solar panel for charging it. It uses very little power and they use soy-ink on the packaging. Samsung Blue Earth is launching in Sweden in October and will soon launch in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Portugal and other European and Asian countries.

Electronics eventually break down.  The dilemma is then repair or replace the item. If you item is under warranty, the decision is easy – get it fixed.  Remember that many credit cards will double your manufacturer’s warranty.  Check your credit card’s fine print.

Repairing Computers, iPods, iPhones

ifixit sells replacement parts for many items including Computers, iPods and iPhones and has tutorials on iPod repair, iPhone repair, cell phone repair etc.

Greenerchoices has a guide to Fix it for Nix it on Electronics.

A recent article targeting consumer electronics dealers touts the advantages of repairing Cameras rather than New Sales.

Repairing Water Damaged Electronics

Water is the enemy of electronics. It is pretty obvious that you should not have any beverages near a computer, and should prevent any water from splashing on your phone. If for some unfortunate reason you now have a water damaged piece of electronics, try the following:

• Remove the battery
• Place the phone or gadget in a bag of dry uncooked rice for a day or two
• Other people have tried kitty litter instead of rice. You can also try a bunch of silica packets.
• Commercial products designed to dry wet electronics include: Bheestie Bags, Dry-All

Why repairing Electronics is Green

Clearly it is more green to fix what you already have. The amount of resources used to ship, fix, return an item is far less than all the carbon required to create a new, say digital camera from scratch.

Precision Camera estimates that repairing one year’s worth of digital cameras, instead of producing the same number of new digital cameras, is equivalent to removing 1000 SUV’s from the road. This claim was based on a recent “Rethink Repair” environmental study.

Repair is actually a win win situation for retailers as they can earn double the margins over a new camera purchase.  Hopefully more shops will offer this alternative to just selling new items.

When repairing Electronics Does Not Make Sense

The downside is that their spending $240 to repair an old $600 10 Megapixel digital camera may not be a wise decision economically.  Cameras have fallen in price and advanced in functionality. You would get a far more advanced camera with your new money.  The trade offs in being green are always complex and littered with land mines.

Think about donating the item to a repair shop or on Craigslist so someone can use the guts for parts.  Recycle electronics that cannot be repaired.

Be sure to read our article:

Extend Battery Life, Laptop Battery Life, iPhone Battery Life

Have a cell phone? Thought so…

Xtreme Technologies Bluetooth Gateway helps you dump your landline phone line and use your cellular phone at home. It connect your cell phone to a standard phone line jack using Bluetooth. Save money and consolidate bills using this beast.  Position your cell phone and this box in the optimal area for cell phone reception in your home and you are set. Beware of the cell phone radiation warnings that have been posted.

Vtech makes a DECT cordless phone with the Bluetooth built in but no where does it state that it is a eco friendly green DECT phone like the Siemens SL785, that does not radiate constantly.