Two new patents show Apple getting into the energy tracking game, killing power bricks
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 18th 2010 9:56AM
posted January 18th 2010 9:56AM
Apple may already be the favored child of Greenpeace and platform of choice for eco-minded gadgetistas worldwide, but it isn't resting on its laurels. The company looks like it's pondering an entrance into the home automation/energy tracking markets, filing for a pair of patents that would enable devices to register their power usage and communicate with each other using HomePlug Alliance standards. Users would be able to monitor the charging status of connected devices and delay their charges to occur during off-peak hours. There's even a new type of plug that could internally perform AC/DC conversions and automatically provide the appropriate amount of juice to any supporting device. The end of the ubiquitous power brick? Sounds nice, but something tells us it'll be a few decades before we can reclaim that precious space in our carry-ons.
@AdmiralKlingon Roughly 4 years. I can give it to someone else and the phone would have a total lifespan of 6 years.
Sure you can have Apple replace the battery. But last I checked, it costs 86$US for the replacement. And with the hassle of shipping and waiting, lots of people would get a new one instead.
No matter how you look at it, there is no way this is as eco-friendly as a phone that allows replacing the battery yourself for 30$.
@AdmiralKlingon
Every Cellphone I have bought since Nokia 8210 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_8210 1999) is still in use. My grandfather still use the 8210.
IT's too bad WEstinghouse won out over Edison .. woulda been cool if homes came with DC plugs in addition to AC. Actually I many electronics and even lighting is in DC today so maybe it's not too late .. though we'll need to standardize on a voltage.
@JS
Actually it wouldn't be so great since DC current has a lot of losses. AC is more energy efficient. And of course DC outlets would require a huge transformer in every home.
I think AC is better.
@vaggelisz
you are completely right. DC transmission is useless, and putting a converter in every house would lose so much more energy than it would save.
You know what the power supply should count as part of the laptop .. it's cheating to have a huge power supply and then a claim u have a thin portable laptop. If you hav eto lug the bulky power supply whats the point?
I think US government need to set up a separate patent office just to deal with the daily submission of the Apple inc.
On behalf of the rest of the readers that are not apple fans I apologize for calling apple a polluter since Greenpeace in not to be trusted anymore. I really had not realized that. I am sure apple will file a suit against Greenpeace any time soon to correct this.
You know what is really "ungreen" about Apple? making only modest technical changes to a product, but then revamping the appearance so that the older version is no longer as cool, thus encouraging millions of teenagers to upgrade to the latest model for little to no technical benefit.
How many iPods have hit the landfill, or been chucked in a drawer indefinitely, not because they were no longer useful, but rather that they were no longer cool?
@RandomGuy or because the internal battery is no longer holding a charge and it is more hassle than it is worth to send it in to replace the battery when you can just buy the new model.
Great, now we'll have to rewire our houses every 3-5 yrs when Apple picks a new standard, and our old wiring is rendered obsolete.
"Apple may already be the favored child of Greenpeace and platform of choice for eco-minded gadgetistas worldwide[...]"
No and no.
I don't think people on Apple's payroll should be blogging on this site. It makes things confusing.
You know that even if they didn't patent it, they'd still sell a ton with just the Apple logo stamped on it. Being fascist with their music download service and iTunes only on their "approved" devices is one thing and I can kind of understand that, but conserving energy and trying to help reduce people's environmental footprint is far and away something more important. I guess they really do just want to cash in on greenwashing after all.