Radar 3/4
- instead consumers need to start
leasing these products".
"We ask our customers to have this
stuff and to use it but we ask them
to give it back so we can recycle it.
We could make a fully upgradeable
PC that would last forever but most
likely you wouldn't want to be seen
with it and it wouldn't be 'carryable'
or portable".
McIntyre said that a balance must
be struck between making sure that
"you have a design team that brings in
innovation and moves things forward
but meets the consumers' needs to
have something cool and trendy".
"Moving forward these are some of
the challenges that as a society and
as an industry we have to face," said
McIntyre.
In addition to the idea of servicisation,
the concept of 'devices for life', such
as the modular phone, have been
gaining momentum this year to tackle
the growing problem of e-waste.
Read more in this issue of SB on
how smartphone designers are coming
up with concepts that reduce the need
to consistently upgrade devices and
therefore reduce the impact of e-waste.
Click here keep up-to-date with the latest news from edie.net
Business
Google and Apple
invest in major solar
projects
Tech giants Google and Apple have both
strengthened their renewable energy
credentials by announcing the installation
of major solar arrays in the US.
In November, Google announced an
$80m (£50m) investment in six utilityscale solar facilities in California and
Arizona.
With a combined capacity of 106MW,
the six-project portfolio is expected to
be operational by early 2014 and will
generate enough electricity to power
more than 17,000 US homes.
In a blog post, Google's head of
corporate finance Kojo Ako-Asare, said:
"You'd think the thrill might wear off
this whole renewable energy investing
thing after a while.
Nope--we're still as into it as ever".
Meanwhile, Apple announced that
the construction of a new, 176-acre
corporate headquarters in Cupertino,
California has been approved and will
feature one of the largest solar arrays in
the world.
Apple's global corporate headquarters
facility, which is known as the Infinite
Loop Campus, covers 856,000 square
feet and will have approximately 8MW
of photovoltaics installed on the Main
Building and parking structure roofs.
Construction of Apple's headquarters
is expected to be completed by 2016.
