Steve Jobs: New Apple Nano iPods to be Greener
by Michael Graham Richard, Gatineau, Canada on 09. 9.08
New iPod Nanos 4G: Taller & Greener
Our friends at Gizmodo are covering Apple's media event today, and Jason Chen wrote on Gizmodo's Live Coverage Site:
"He’s now talking about the environmental concerns that Apple’s thinking about. These new nanos are using arsenic-free glass, BFR-free, mercury free, PVC-free and highly recyclable. Jobs says it’s the “cleanest” most “toxic free” iPods they’ve ever made."
Sounds like a step in the right direction! We hope that Apple will keep going and take leadership in the field of green consumer electronics. They already do some efforts on recycling: Apple Recycles iPods, Computers, All Brands of Cell Phones, but more is needed in product design (f.ex. Make products easier to de-assemble for recycling, use only recyclable materials, allow batteries to be changed, use even fewer toxic materials, etc).
The greenist ipods yet. Also known as, let's clean up the smallest product we make. Small improvements and big marketing appeal for the electronics company that has possibly the best marketing on the planet.
Apple's marketing is so good that most consumers somehow forget about the environment once a Mac has entered the room. I know, their stuff really is awesome.
Little steps won't create the change we need to see, and Apple's green marketing will only distract consumers from investing in competitors that are taking big steps in the right direction.
Here's what's really going on, regarding climate change: Apple is last amongst all electronics companies ranked-http://www.climatecounts.org/scorecard_sectors.php?id=13
As for sustainability in general, Apple turned down recommendations to create a board committee for sustainability in April. A move that would have brought greening to the front line in executive decision making. http://www.networkworld.com/news/2008/030408-apple-shareholders-ok-say-on.html
If only Apple could make it so iPods last longer than 2 years without completely dying...now THAT would be a step in the right direction!
"The greenist ipods yet. Also known as, let's clean up the smallest product we make."
Way to miss the point. The iPod Nano is their highest volume product, and this announces changes for their other products when they get updated.
Ah, the irony... touting environmentally-friendly design on a product designed for obsolescence within a couple years. They'd do more for the planet by making the product more durable and using a user-replacable recycleable battery. But of course then they wouldn't sell as many.
I have an iPod mini that's still working fine that I got second-hand from someone. I plan on giving it to a friend and upgrading to this new nano. the mini is from 4 years ago, so I'd say that it has lasted pretty well.
I don't see what everyone's problem with apple is. People probably hold onto iPods longer than a lot of other devices like their mobile phones, and at least apple is attempting to make these greener. If you guys want to complain about someone go complain about Samsung or Nokia or Sansdisk or all of those companies who aren't even living up to the standards that apple is setting with their products.
I have not seen that report on apple before, but from a quick look at it looks like apple ranked low because it just didn't bother disclosing its information to this group. That sounds like guilty until proven innocent, where "no comment" means "Guilty!". Of course, i may be wrong, but I remember many times when Apple was able to clear itself when environmental critics spoke out against them, here's an example http://www.roughlydrafted.com/RD/Home/29C5599A-FCD8-4E30-9AD5-5497999ABA1B.html
WHAT THE F#CK?!!
Don't you know that Al Gore is on their board of directors?!
He won a Nobel peace prize for his efforts in bringing Climate Change awareness to the masses!
And Climatecounts.org rates Apple as an 11?!?!
Sickening. never heard of them before and don't plan on visiting in the future.
What's your problem Jeremy? You don't make much sense.
So because Apple did some good stuff, they shouldn't be encouraged to do more? or am I missing your point?
BUY MORE STUFF.
Jobs says
BUY MORE STUFF.
Jobs says
BUY MORE STUFF.
'publicans say
DRILL DRILL DRILL.
We're so doomed, I hope the collider does suck us into a black hole tomorrow and save us the torment.
Dermot
You seem to be suggesting that since Apple isn't Dell, or that they haven't taken all the steps needed to be sustainable, that this isn't important. I completely disagree. While Apple may not have the sales compared to Dell or IBM, they are the market trend setters. They're forcing the conversation into this direction with this announcement and challenging others to follow. Electronic waste is one of the most dangerous forms of pollution, full of toxic chemicals and heavy metals. If a high profile company like Apple starts doing this, it forces others to follow.
@ Dokein
Solid states devices should last a lot longer than the mechanical hard drive devices. My 5 year old USB key still works fine, although it's tiny by today's standards. That's essentially the same as a nano, without the DSP chip and headphone jack.
Willy, what's your plan? Convincing everybody to live like Thoreau?
Anon:
Good boy. Your lord COMMANDS you to
BUY MORE STUFF
BUY MORE STUFF
and then
DRILL DRILL DRILL
Black hole...PLEASE GOD!
Yeah and they still break after about 18 months.
WTH? Are you on drugs?
Besides, you have no idea who I am. I don't even own a car, never have. Only thing I buy is books when the library doesn't have them, and I don't have a house. 100% of my electricity comes from hydro.
Yeah, I fit your profile.
Anyway, good way to deflect a question about what your solution would look like..
@JSDreyer: And in 5 years, the standard for music will be lossless and everyone will expect SuperHD video at 10GB or more a pop.
A current generation iPod will simply not have the storage or processing power to do the job, any more than a Pentium 2 notebook can be expected to run today's version of Vista.
Some things DO in fact simply become obsolete. And while that 5-year old 512K USB key may still work, I'd like to to see you use it to move a few 2GB movie files back and forth.
Anon and Michael,
You want a plan? How about just don't BUY MORE STUFF and simply enjoy the STUFF YOU ALREADY HAVE.
Are you kidding me? You need feature length HD movies on your stupid Ipod with 2' screen? Are you totally daft? Pay no attention to that myopia myth. You need 800 hours of LOSSLESS music to carry around with you rather than 80 hours of minimally compressed? Are you insane? Obviously.
Sheeple.
You wanna know whats more green then buying a new green ipod nano? Not buying one and throwing out your old one.
To criticize Apple for making greener products is like criticizing the auto makers for making hybrids. Except it's worse, because the hybrid demand is a result of high oil prices. There is not a massive demand for Apple to be doing this right now.
Yes, the iPods should last longer and have easily replaceable batteries. But let's keep things in perspective here. This is a BIG step in the right direction.
@ Michael,
I disagree. 128b MP3 has been an acceptable standard for most people for almost a decade. Document files have not increased much in size in a decade either, rending my 512MB USB key still useful for transferring docs. Some things are rendered into obsolescence, but some things aren't. Each is case by case.
As a second point, Nanos and their ilk are much less energy costly than the stereos I grew up with as a boy, both in terms of production and operation.
"You wanna know whats more green then buying a new green ipod nano? Not buying one and throwing out your old one."
Well, duh, captain obvious.
But these things will still sell, so it's going they're going to be greener.
Oh, so, because Apple came out with a new product AT ALL, they suck ass environmentally? Good thinking, guys.
Because they even want to sell anything at all, we should throw Apple into a grand funeral pyre because that's what they're trying to do to Earth?
COME ON. They're a capitalist firm! They're SUPPOSED to sell things. They have STOCKHOLDERS to be accountable to! That they're TRYING is the point.
THEY are changing the product. YOU as the consumer must now get the hell over this "What, there's something new?! Golly, I'll buy that!" mentality. Without the consumer, there would be no product.
They're taking care of their end -- the product they provide is now a better, more enivironmental product; and electronics are far more hazardous to the environment than most people consder -- so if it's environmentally friendly and designed to not tax the Earth into infinity, well... that's a start!
As for "making it more durable", well, I'm STILL using my iPOD Mini First Gen, and dropped it from six feet onto concrete AGAIN yesterday, and I'm STILL listening to it after five years.
Want to tell me that's not durable? Want to tell me why you've been one of the sheep jumping from product to product?
See, unlike most iPOD owners, I learned how to change a battery.
Try it. It's an AMAZING skill. You change the battery, it keeps working... HOLY CRAP. Who knew?
As for Apple, it's a first step. It's a huge first step. As for every other company in the world: What if every single company made their best-selling product their most environmentally responsible product?
Oh, of course, you're right -- that'd be just totally cynical and money-grabbing.
Hello? In a time when every environmental footprint leaves a dent, anyone trying to soften the impression deserves some accolades. Try to see the big picture.
It's a start, at a time when a lot of companies are still in the past. Stop punishing them for trying.
willy,
Who said I was going to buy one? I don't have a mp3 player, or a cellphone. how about you?
But since THEY ARE OBVIOUSLY GOING TO SELL SOME, they might as well be greener. What are you not understanding?
No, anon-e-mouse, I do not understand the fixation on buying more stuff that still permeates our culture, regardless of the very obvious pot of just-about-to-be boiling water we are in.
Oh wait, oil is back to 100bbl. Happy days are here again, and here to stay!!! BUY MORE STUFF!!!
you are definitely on drugs, dude.
let's just remember to look at any good news from companies feeding off consumerism as something to take with a grain of salt. yes, its great that apple is trying to do some good for the environment, but there's ALWAYS something they're (any company, not just apple) not telling you, not to mention that they're reporting this eco-product simply to make more sales.
oh yea, anonymous, you're a bit pretentious. instead of making comments on here, go read your plethora of library books. =) actually, i have a good recommendation: have you read 'cradle to cradle'?
mang, i still have a sony walkman from '92, in perfect condition. 'they dont make them like they used to'
My problem with Apple is that because they're such a hugely influential marketing force, they can talk up relatively insignificant (but positive, nevertheless) steps and make it sound like the 2nd coming, where companies like Dell can roll out vastly more holistic solutions on a much larger scale...but they don't get anywhere near the media fanfare.
The weirdest thing is, it seems like such wasted potential. I want to believe that among the typical Apple clique, there's a real values-match when it comes to sustainability. Yuppies love the act of being green, or certainly the image of it, anyway, so if Apple took strides to become the most sustainable electronics maker, they'd be playing right to their audience.
I guess the sad thing is, they have no need to. Apple devotees will fill the company coffers and continue to buy new products with every generation, regardless of the cognitive dissonance that represents...
I say good for Apple Inc. I am a HUGE Mac fan and I love to see them taking steps in the right direction.
As far as iPod durability... my husband still has an iPod Mini and it works great. My Nano has surpassed the two year mark with no issues at all.
Apple could definitely make products easier to disassemble for recycling, but they do offer recycling programs which handles this issue. You are able to return your used iPod to any Apple store (as well as any brand of cell phone). When you recycle your iPod this way, you will receive a 10% discount on the purchase of your new iPod.
http://www.apple.com/environment/
No company is 100% sustainable... consuming is NOT sustainable. The focus here is on making things which are more sustainable than their counterparts.
My husband got a clamshell iBook back in the days of candy-colored iMacs. Although he now has a new MacBook, that clamshell iBook is *still* making the rounds among his less technologically literate family members, who use it for basic web-browsing and word processing. This computer has held up for 8 years and is still usable--not bad.
It's true that it's good when companies make environmentally sustainable products, and I think that's very, very important. I'm really glad Apple is taking a step in the right direction. I don't feel a cognitive dissonance getting Apple products, because I know when I buy an Apple product it is a product that will last. Whereas me and my hubby got two non-apple computers and they both died of heat failure, the only Apple I've ever had die on me was a white iBook my mother (LITERALLY) threw across the room while it was in my hubby's backpack. (She didn't realize what was in it.) Even then, the Laptop was still good for 3-4 years afterward--it took a long time for it to finally kick the bucket! I have a G5 I've had for 5 years, too, and i still use that as my main computer.
When you have a piece of equipment that lasts, it keeps you from buying more stuff. I can't justify buying a new computer just for the hell of it, because my G5 still does everything I need it to do.
Grab some perspective. People seem more than willing to nit-pick an iPod while breathlessly fawning over electric or plug-in electric cars with thousands (or even millions) of times the environmental impact of an iPod.
Please, remember, focus.