Reasons Why Tablet Computers CAN be Greener

Photo credit: Some rights reserved by John.Karakatsanis

The fad of adding eco-friendliness to electronic products might look nothing more than a sophisticated green-washing campaign. However it is true that we need something that would tone down the environmental harm of the electronics industry, through the establishment of different green certification programs like EPEAT and Energy Star. Besides, it’s not like throwing away technology be would a realistic option for this ever progressive society.

But among all the other green computers that have been rolled out over the past few years, today’s tablets hold the potential to be one of the greenest gadgets to ever be invented. Why is that? We’ll have to take a look at some of its fundamental characteristics for us to find out.

Very low power consumption. In the entire development history of computers over the past decades, tablets may be the most energy efficient computer to be every released yet. The energy that they consume is almost negligible even when compared to a standard laptop, which has an average power consumption rating of 50 watts or so. What’s more they are portable, designed to work for a long amount of time on battery power. Unlike most laptops that only last for about 4 hours on a full charge, many tablets today can last for up to 8 hours on a single charge. Tablets can even be made to completely rely on green energy sources, further reducing its energy carbon footprint.

Tablets are made using fewer raw materials. Of course, since they are lighter and more portable, it would indirectly mean that lesser raw materials were needed to build them. This again compares them to standard PC’s, which require many more separate components to be assembled. When finally disposed of, tablets do not add much to the grey pile, and there are even active projects to include tablets in a proper e-waste management process. This green advantage is mostly seen from a raw manufacturing perspective of course, since the demand for tablets worldwide might have simply evened out this would-be positive point.

They can be a direct replacement for paper. Of course, one of the most touted green advantages of tablets is that like e-readers, they can be a direct replacement for paper-based media like newspapers, books and magazines. You can save hundreds of book titles inside the memory of a single tablet, probably saving a few trees in the process. Your comic books and magazines no longer have to be stacked up in your room, and you can simply transfer other image and text files onto a larger digital storage medium. This advantage is controversial at best of course, since the energy needed to manufacture tablets would still require the consumption of dirty fuels. Nevertheless, I still like to think that tablets and computers in general are there for us to end our excessive reliance on paper.

Industrially, we know that the idea of a completely eco-friendly tablet is impossible. However, compared to an energy-hungry, high-end PC, tablets definitely have less impact on the environment, at least when assessed individually (and not considered as an entire industry).

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Christian Crisostomo (250 Posts)

Christian Crisostomo is just your average tech geek that loves to see man's newest and most recent technological exploits. He holds great interest in the potentials of green technology, and is enthusiastic about the continuous development of environment-friendly alternative energy.

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