Gadget makers show off eco-credentials

Green gadgets galore were unveiled at a London technology show last week.

A number of gadget makers at Friday’s show wanted to allay the concerns of eco-conscious consumers worried that gadgets consume vast swathes of the earth’s resources, with no other purpose than light entertainment for bored young men.

Eco-gadgets at the show included a wireless electricity consumption monitor that lets homeowners know exactly how much power they are using at any one moment in time.

The Wattson, designed by London-based DIY Kyoto, measures how much electricity is being used in the home, and calculates what this is costing per hour.

Priced at £100, the device glows red if a homeowner is using more power than average, and blue if they are being energy efficient.

Also on display were two electric scooters.

The Chinese-built Ego Street Scoota costs just 8 pence to fully charge, has a range of 30 to 40 miles and a top speed of 30 miles per hour.

Meanwhile, US-designed Maxi-Scooter has a 62 miles per hour top speed, and a 68 mile range when travelling at 25 miles per hour.

Latest models of the Maxi include a built in music player than sends tunes wirelessly to the rider’s helmet.

Elsewhere at the show were solar powered portable chargers for MP3 players and mobile phones.

US-based Solio has designed a charger that converts every hour of sunshine into one hour of playback on an iPod, or 25 minutes talk time on a mobile phone.

Finally, an energy efficient laptop comes with bamboo casing instead of plastic or metal.

Manufacturer Asustek said it chose bamboo because it is strong, grows back quickly, and is biodegradable.

‘Keep away from Pandas’, was one blogger’s helpful advice.