Apple offers free recycling of its products worldwide

Apple is offering to recycle its products for free worldwide, and has included even third-party products like mobile phones and PCs in the program in some countries.

The company said on its redesigned environmental responsibility page that Apple retail stores will take back Apple products for “free, responsible recycling.”

A spokesman for Apple confirmed Monday that the program would be available worldwide.

The announcement ahead of Earth Day on Tuesday offers store gift cards, if the old product is found to be reusable, for use against new purchases at Apple online and physical stores. If the product cannot be reused, Apple will recycle it at no cost to the user.

The company said on its website that it had also set up recycling programs in cities and college campuses in 95 percent of the countries where its products are sold, diverting more than 421 million pounds (191 million kilograms) of equipment from landfills since 1994. It has also collected and recycled equipment from other vendors for recycling.

Under the new program, the company is offering, depending on the country, to also recycle Apple batteries besides mobile phones and even computers and displays from other vendors at no cost to the users. There are variations by country, but at the bare minimum every Apple retail store will take back Apple products for free and responsible recycling, the spokesman wrote in an email.

In Australia, for example, Apple is offering free recycling to consumers and small business customers of computers, monitors, iPod and iPad devices, and mobile phones and peripherals from any manufacturer, with a restriction of a maximum of one computer, one monitor and peripheral computer equipment, while in Brazil and Costa Rica, Apple appears to be offering free recycling only on “Apple-branded electronics.”

Apple has signed up with contractors in various countries to administer and manage the program and to recycle the unwanted equipment. In China and some other markets in Asia it has tied with Li Tong Group for the recycling of the used products.

“We believe we must be accountable for every Apple product at every stage of its use,”wrote Lisa Jackson, Apple’s vice president of environmental initiatives. The company on Monday also updated its website to include latest information on its environmental initiatives. Every one of the company’s data centers, for example, is powered entirely by clean sources such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy, Jackson said.

Source:

www.pcworld.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 12:52 AM in 95 percent, Apple offers, Apple online, Brazil, Costa Rica, Earth Day, mobile phones, products worldwide, recycling, spokesman

Nike fails to fuel its FuelBand dream: What really went wrong

Rumors of Nike exiting the wearable device market for good have been circling the Internet for quite some time. However, these rumors have intensified after Nike fired most of its FuelBand team due to the failures of the device in the marketplace.

As per the person who is familiar with Nike's decisions, the company plans to exit the wearable device business and stick solely to software, mainly improving the Nike+ app for the iPhone, thus having no idea if Nike plans to launch the app on other devices, or if the company is interested in creating more apps in the future.

"As a fast-paced, global business we continually align resources with business priorities," Nike spokesman Brian Strong said in an email. "As our Digital Sport priorities evolve, we expect to make changes within the team, and there will be a small number of layoffs. We do not comment on individual employment matters."

To prove how terrible the FuelBand performed, Cnet has reported that as many as 55 people were fired from the 70-man team behind the wearable device on Thursday. This alone could be signs that Nike has no intention to return to the wearable device market, but we might be getting ahead of ourselves.

Nike gave the impression that the company is not yet ready to leave the wearable device market just yet.

"The Nike+ FuelBand SE remains an important part of our business," Strong added. "We will continue to improve the Nike+ FuelBand App, launch new METALUXE colors, and we will sell and support the Nike+ FuelBand SE for the foreseeable future."

The big question though, why is Nike firing over 80 percent of the FuelBand's workforce? Well, the device did not perform up to expectations in the marketplace and based on an anonymous post via the app Secret, a social network for gossip centered on the tech industry, problems could lie with the execs.

"The douchebag execs at Nike are going to lay off a bunch of the eng team who developed The FuelBand, and other Nike+ stuff. Mostly because the execs committed gross negligence, wasted tons of money, and didn't know what they were doing."

It is clear that wearable devices are bound to take off with the amount of top technology companies entering the space. It would be wise for Nike to return to the drawing board, and then bounce back again before the market is too crowded.

Source:

www.techtimes.com

Posted by Editorial Team on 12:08 AM in 80 percent, FuelBand, marketplace, Nike fails, Nike+, Secret, social network, spokesman, technology, wrong