Congratulations to our lucky February winner, @djh_artist, who will be able to celebrate Earth Day in style this year with a Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free car kit!

For all of you eco-warriors out there who are green with envy, don’t worry – IOGEAR will continue to give away highlights from our green product portfolio until Earth Day. If you had your heart set on getting the Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free car kit, you still can purchase your own via our reseller partners or on our e-store directly.

MARCH COMPETITION ANNOUNCEMENT!!

This month, one lucky Twitter follower will be grabbing our USB Laptop KVM Switch, one of the latest portable innovations from IOGEAR.  Leveraging the convenience of an all-in-one USB cable, the USB Laptop KVM Switch allows you to easily work and switch between two computers on one monitor and file transfer between the two computers connected. Cutting down on unnecessary wires and inflated power bills, the Laptop KVM Switch is a multi-tasker’s best friend!

As a reminder, entering is as easy as these three simple steps…

• Follow us on Twitter
• Re-tweet any message that mentions the March competition
• Cross your fingers!

For all the folks who tweeted the February contest but did not win – you are welcome to re-tweet the March round and try again. IOGEAR will be announcing a March winner at the end of the month. For full rules of entry and other legal jargon click here.

Find out more about IOGEAR’s GREEN initiative, and stay tuned for more exclusive announcements and offers in the run-up to Earth Day.

With WiFi and 3G (and now 4G) getting all of the attention recently, we don’t think about Bluetooth very often. According to Wikipedia:

“Bluetooth is an open wireless protocol for exchanging data over short distances (using short length radio waves) from fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area networks (PANs). … It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.”

The last time Bluetooth received significant media buzz was when several states decided to pass a law outlawing cell phone usage while driving. This sparked a surge in Bluetooth usage and sales, putting the technology once again in the spotlight.

At IOGEAR, we have taken the technology to another level, by adding solar technology to the mix with our Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit, stirring up a bit of buzz during CES 2010.

For a hands on, in-depth review, take a look at this blog post by TechBucketBlog.com.

Even before this innovation, IOGEAR has been utilizing bluetooth technology to help our users improve their digital lives. Let’s take a look at a few our Bluetooth enabled devices and how they can improve your experiences.

Bluetooth 2.1 USB Micro Adaptor

This award winning device is about the size of an adult fingernail, allowing your non-Bluetooth enabled computers to now utilize the benefits of bluetooth connectivity, such as: wirelessly communicating with other Bluetooth-enabled computers, printers, PDAs, cell phones, headsets at a rang of up to 30 feet (10 meters).

This little guy also supports a myriad of services including A2DP stereo audio wireless streaming. No worries about backward compatibility either, as this device also supports the Bluetooth 1.1 & 1.2 specifications.

Bluetooth Stereo Audio Transmitter

Have you ever been at the gym working out, listening to music on your mp3 player, and end up getting a wire caught in something? We feel your pain. This device allows you to go wireless with a variety of music and audio sources such as the iPod, iPhone, various MP3 payers, computers, home stereos and on and on …

The device features a 3.5 standard jack with a range of up to 33 feet (10 meters) allowing connectively with most modern devices. The built-in rechargeable battery gives you up to 6 hours of continuous operation. That should hold you through a few workouts.

Bluetooth in Your Life

If you want to explore what can be done with Bluetooth technology further, take a look at this article from Accenture.com that talks about six cool uses for Bluetooth beyond the desktop. Now that it is on your mind, how has Bluetooth technology effected the way you interact with your devices? What Bluetooth enabled devices do you own?

As Earth Day approaches, we here at IOGEAR have green on the brain and we want to help YOU get leaner, greener and more streamlined this spring! Read on for tips on how to cut down your electronic waste, as well as exclusive competition details where you can win some of our greenest products!

Helping to sustain the environment is about more than just recycling – it’s about making intelligent purchases and streamlining your electronics to avoid waste. Minimizing your eco footprint is easy with products designed to work with your entertainment systems – and IOGEAR provides easy and flexible solutions to keep things simple and cut down on unnecessary waste.

IOGEAR’s commitment to green products is at the heart of our business. From flexible KVM switches which allow the user to control their system using just one keyboard and mouse and reduces energy consumption to the Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit for clean, green charging on the go, IOGEAR combines the latest in environment technology with products that work for your everyday life.

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION!!!!

To celebrate the approach of Earth Day, IOGEAR will be giving away some of our best and brightest green products exclusively to Twitter followers each month until April!

First up is the Solar Bluetooth Hands-Free Car Kit. This road-companion harnesses solar energy to enable you to wirelessly place and receive calls on your Bluetooth-enabled mobile phone while keeping your eyes on the road and your hands on the steering wheel when driving.

Entering is as easy as…

1. Follow us on Twitter
2. Retweet any message that mentions the competition
3. Cross your fingers!

IOGEAR will be announcing a February winner at the end of the month, so get Tweeting!

For full rules of entry and other legal jargon click here.

Find out more about IOGEAR’s GREEN initiative, and stay tuned for more exclusive announcements and offers in the run-up to Earth Day.

What will YOU be doing to celebrate Earth Day 2010?

IOGEAR has taken several significant steps in offering consumers eco-friendly and green products and as a company we remain committed to our responsibility to the environment.

A key product line that assists in these efforts is our KVM line. Not only are these products convenient for you, but they save on waste and energy by eliminating the need for excess gadgets and the amount of energy running through them!
By allowing users to control several devices with our KVM offerings, IOGEAR has eliminated the need for nearly 30 million keyboards, mice and other excess products.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished in 2008 – aggressively removing harmful chemicals such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and brominate flame retardants (BFR), from our products. Our solutions are now 80% free of these substances. We have worked hard to ensure 70% of all IOGEAR products are Energy Star or CEC compliant. Additionally, the majority of IOGEAR product packages are made from recycled materials and plastic without UV coating and all marketing collateral is made from recycled materials and soy and vegetable based inks.

We also remain committed to our Road to a Million Tree program in which we will plant a tree for every product sold on IOGEAR.com and through our GREEN initiative partners we will plant two trees for every KVM product sold.

We can’t wait to see the results of our green campaigns in 2009!

What gadgets help you stay green?

Cheers,
The IOGEAR Team

Every year in April, organizations, businesses and individuals are reminded of the importance of ‘green’.

IOGEAR has a strong commitment to improving lives through technology and by giving back to the environment. In addition to several initiatives we’ve taken with our products, packaging and internal operations, we’re also a partner of Trees for the Future, a non-profit organization devoted to supporting the redevelopment of agricultural land in developing countries by planting trees.

For the past year, a tree was planted for every product purchased on our Web site or through members of our GREEN initiative partner program. After 11 months, we have planted nearly 60,000 trees to support Trees for the Future’s Cameroon program. These trees have helped improve soil fertility through the creation of natural green fertilizer, feed domestic animals such as pigs, goats and cows as well as produce honey to generate income.

In honor of Earth Month, IOGEAR will donate two trees for each product purchased on our site or from our GREEN partners. What better way to stay green than to buy a product like our USB Laptop KVM Switch that not only reduces excess computer hardware but will also help improve the livelihood of more than 200 farming groups in Cameroon.

See the video below of founder Dave Deppner discussing Trees for the Future.

To keep up with the latest ecotechnologies, check out PCMag.com’s GoodCleanTech blog. You can also read more about our Road to a Million Trees campaign here. What GREEN steps do you plan to take during Earth Month?

Cheers,
The IOGEAR Team

The computer age changed the way we live our life, it has also changed the environment.  With the bountiful array of new products being offered, we’ve created new waste as we consumers’ upgrade, and the plants where these products are manufactured also put out waste.  The tech industry has taken a step up to fight the adverse affects of their ways and been forerunners in the go green campaigns that seem to be on everyone’s minds right now.

Rebuilding the Earth

If you want to contribute to the creation and replacement of lost trees, check out 10 products that get a tree planted. Every time you purchase something from one of those companies, they take part of the profits and put it towards planting trees, helping offset their carbon footprint.  Going one step further, IOGEAR will now plant two trees for every product you purchase on their online store or one for the program partners via their Road to a Million Tree’s campaign.

The computer industry as a whole has really been trying to give back to the world, Dell for example has a Plant a Tree for Me campaign, simply add a tree to the shopping cart while ordering from them online and they will do the rest.

Being More Efficient and Less Damaging to the Environment

Since giving back isn’t the only option for the tech sector to go green, many have started to make their devices less power hungry, thus reducing the amount they pull from the grid.

Web host DreamHost runs completely carbon neutral through a good bit of research and some efficient approaches on how it runs its massive computer warehouses.  Computer giant Lenovo is releasing the A61e PC, which can be completely powered with solar power!

Another example are WD Caviar Green drives which draw less power, are quieter and run cooler, making it a win / win for everyone involved.

Tip: Make your storage drives even greener by putting them in an external enclosure and powering them down when not in use, separate from your main home computer.

A power supply’s main job is to power your computer, but most waste energy in that process though.  Seasonic has a line of 80 Plus certified power supplies that only draw the power your computer needs at the time.  If you put a 500w power supply in your case and the computer is sitting idle and only needs 20% power, only 100w will be drawn from the supply.

Computer chip giant Intel has made a new line of chips that are actually faster processors than older ones, yet consume 40% less energy.  That means an average price drop for a year of letting your computer run of about $12.00.  Just from the processor!

Here at IOGEAR we have a bevy of ways to help you go green, such as our KVM switches which allow the control over multiple computers from one keyboard, video monitor and mouse, thus reducing the number of monitors to efficiently work on several computers.  Sometimes the best way to reduce is to simply eliminate.

In Conclusion

Computers and technology is a part of everything we do, everywhere.  From the touch screen kiosks waiters use at restaurants to place orders to the kitchen staff, to advances in medicine and new treatment discoveries.  We need computers, but the technology, with the help of the manufactures is getting smarter, better, faster and more green.

Just switching hard drives in our home computers or utilizing KVM switches could greatly reduce the total impact to the environment, and buying from companies who are taking proactive steps towards replanting our forests is the steps we need to take, now.  With all we’ve used computers and modern technology to accomplish, it’s about time we start using them to fix what we’ve steamrolled in the processes.

Please share with us the ways you are using technology to go green in the comments.

As 2008 winds down and the world prepares for 2009, consumers are on the lookout for the hottest new technologies. With consumer’s needs and wants changing after a historically tumultuous year economically, the demands for the latest gadgets technology have shifted as well.

Consumers are no longer searching for the biggest, boldest technologies but are interested in electronics that help streamline and organize their lives, saving time and money. People are investing in gadgets that help them share and maximize existing resources.

Convenience is key for 2009. With the need to always be connected, society has and continues to move wireless. The greatest and most popular technologies in 2009 will implement wireless capabilities saving cable clutter and eliminating material waste. Wireless gadgets give customers environmentally-friendly options to streamline home and work spaces.

Additionally, green isn’t just about money. Consumers have taken a wider interest in items that not only maximize their bottom line, but save power and energy as well. Many companies, including IOGEAR, are taking steps in the right direction to conserve resources. Next year, energy-conserving gadgets such as solar-powered batteries, refurbished computers and KVM switches will be hot, hot, hot!

Respectfully,

The IOGEAR Staff

Green is the new black, well at least in this eco-conscious day and age it is. Everyone and everything is going green, and individuals and companies are implementing personal and professional actions in order to help sustain our environment.

Customers can go beyond recycling and make intelligent purchases to help save money, energy and space. In our advanced tech-savvy world, there are several products available that help today’s consumers.  With more and more advances in technology, customers can avoid adding to their electronic waste by using the resources they already own for multiple purposes.

Following are three ways you can go green with IOGEAR.

1. Manage Multiple Computers with One Keyboard and Mouse

Do you have multiple computers? Wouldn’t it be nice to control them all with one keyboard and mouse? IOGEAR’s KVM switches do just that, and they work with up to eight computers. We have everything from an 8-Port KVM with Wireless Mouse / Keyboard Combo to our recent USB Laptop KVM Switch that utilizes a laptop as your console.

2. Reduce the need for Cables with Wireless Hubs

Consumers can eliminate the amount of excessive wires and cabling needed by replacing wired USB hubs with wireless hubs. For example, IOGEAR offers a Wireless USB Hub and Adapter Kit to wirelessly connect your printers, scanners, hard drives and digital cameras to a PC.

3. Buy Something from IOGEAR and Get a Tree Planted

IOGEAR is also committed to a cleaner, better world, which is why we have implemented the ‘Road to a Million Trees’ campaign. IOGEAR partnered with Trees for the Future to plant a tree for every product sold on IOGEAR.com or through an IOGEAR Green initiative partner.

Find out more about IOGEAR’s GREEN initiative.

What are you doing to make the world a greener place?