Softpedia
 

NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
Home > News > Technology and Gadgets > Laptops

January 9th, 2008, 10:58 GMT · By Bogdan Botezatu

CES 2008: Fujitsu to Introduce Corn-Made PC on the Japanese Market

SHARE:

Adjust text size:


Corn will appeal less than rice would to the Japanese buyers
Enlarge picture
Fujitsu have once again managed to amaze the audience as they announced their third generation of Biblo PCs at the Consumer Electronics Show. The notebook is fully functional and looks just like a common
unit. While its interior is built with regular hardware, the outside casing is made out of plant-based plastic.

More to the point, Fujitsu has adopted a revolutionary polymer that is a mix of 50 percent plant-based materials, and 50 percent regular plastics. The environmental-friendly plastic is fully biodegradable and is made of regular ears of corn, processed down to corn starch, then turned into a polymer alloy. Using 100 percent corn polymers is currently impossible as corn-based plastics aren't rigid enough for laptop use. Moreover, these polymers cannot stand excessive heat and are more likely to burst in flames

According to the company officials, this new material cuts down on carbon dioxide emissions during the manufacturing process by 15 percent. The manufacturer has managed to keep the environmental friendly laptop prices as low as the regular ones.

This is not the first time Fujitsu has created a environmentally friendly laptop casing. Back in 2002, the smaller FMV Biblo was released. The notebook's case was made of biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA). Some other Fujitsu green initiatives include castor-oil-based polymers that offer superior flexibility over the conventional polymers, while keeping a low impact over the environment.

The third generation of Biblo notebook PCs is a full-featured laptop, priced around $2,000. The notebook is currently available on the Japanese market only, but the manufacturer is considering extending its availability on the United States market, according to the senior vice president of marketing for Fujitsu, Ryan McCormack. However, in order to emerge on the US market, the notebook needs to pass certification, and the flame-retardation issue is quite important for UL and ISO approval.

Fujitsu promised to extend their eco-friendly line of laptops with units made of castor oil and even potatoes-based polymers, that offer the same energy-saving benefits as corn.

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

1,233 hits · Link to this article · Print article · Send to friend · Subscribe to news

MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:


Sony Intros Eco-Friendly Graphic Splash Eco Edition Vaio FZ Notebooks

Extreme Eco-Friendly: The Monitors That Require No Power While in Stand-By

CES 2008: Fujitsu Touts Its Ultra-Mobile PC

Kanguru's Eco Drive Boasts to Be the World's Most Eco-Friendly Portable HDD

IT Industry to Wear Environmental Green Colors

READER COMMENTS:



No user comments yet.
Be the first to express your opinion!
Copyright © 2001-2012 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at

WindowsGamesDriversMacLinuxScriptsMobileHandheldNews

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE   |   ROMANIAN FORUM