Ecobutton Review

Typical price:

£15

We like:

The ease of use; that it's made of recycled plastic

We don't like:

The pointlessness; the really distracting glowing green light

SmartPlanet judgement:

We really wanted to like this. The Ecobutton's aim of cutting the amount of energy wasted by our computers is certainly a noble one. But the execution's wanting. There's just not enough here to warrant the price tag, nor the amount of carbon expended to manufacture and distribute the thing. Next time nature calls, lunchtime arrives or you have a meeting, just stick to your computer's standby button.

Score:

Contact:

Nice Car Company at http://www.nigelsecostore.com/
Telephone: +44 (0)800 288 8970

Meet the Ecobutton, the latest weapon in the campaign to green our gadgets and electronics. As the name suggests, it's a button. The eco part of the equation theoretically comes from plugging it into your Windows PC via USB and then hitting the button to send your computer into standby every time nature calls, lunchtime arrives or a meeting occurs. Plus the button in question is made from recycled plastic.

But why should you care? Well, according to its makers, 1.8 million UK computers regularly get left on overnight and over the weekend, racking up 1.5 billion kWh of wasted energy, or 700,000 tonnes of unnecessary carbon. The Ecobutton, so the idea goes, is the solution, acting as an in-your-face reminder of waste by placing a yo-yo-sized glowing green button on your desktop.

Therein lies the first problem: that glowing green light. It's maddening. Even in daylight hours you'll find your eye being dragged over to its incessant slow glow, as it fades in and out. In. Out. In and out… And then you'll do what we did, and hide it behind your computer, completely negating the point of the gadget. All of which wouldn't be so such grief it you could configure it in the software, which you can't.

Happily, the software's easy enough to download and install, and we found ourselves up and running on Windows XP in minutes. Mac users aren't catered for yet. Tell the software how many watts your computer and monitor use -- the sort of info you'll probably have to look up on Google -- and you're off. Hit the button and seconds later your machine will be in standby. It even worked fine for us with a USB hub.

The question, as you may have been shouting for four paragraphs now, is why bother with this gadget when Windows has the same feature built-in? And it'd be a good question, because we're struggling to find reasons why you'd choose the Ecobutton over clicking 'Start Menu', 'Shut Down Computer' and 'Standby' (or setting up a dedicated keyboard button or your computer's power key to do the same).

Let's look at the numbers. Our test laptop uses 18-37 watts when on. Powered down to standby by using the Start menu, that drops to a far more Al Gore-friendly one-to-two watts. Ecobutton's distributor, Nigel's Eco Store, claims using the gadget saves more energy than simply using standby.

But when we powered down our laptop using the Ecobutton, it still used -- wait for it -- one-to-two watts. Yep, exactly the same as Windows does for free. Sadly, it's not even faster than standby, taking exactly the same time to power down and power up Windows. 

To be on the safe side, we tested the Ecobutton on a desktop PC too, and got the same results. Using the Ecobutton didn't save more energy than using the Start menu's standby function.

There's worse to come for the computer novices this is aimed at. While the Ecobutton powers your computer down, pressing it won't boot your computer up. Nope, you have to hit a key or your computer's power button for that.

While we're nit-picking, we'd also add that the button itself looks and feels cheap and plasticky, and doesn't offer a very satisfying 'response' when you press it. That'd be trivial if it did a brilliant job, but adds to our negative impression of the Ecobutton.

So why would you even consider splashing £15 on this gadget? Well, the sole reason we can see is the carbon and cash savings calculation software. Provided you've plugged in the right stats for your computer and monitor on install, the software will track how long you've had the machine in standby and tell you in large numbers how many pennies and tonnes of carbon you've saved every time you reboot from standby.

Much as it pains us to say it, there's just not enough here to warrant the price tag, nor the amount of carbon expended to manufacture and distribute it. We don't know exactly what its footprint is, since the makers are still gathering information to work it out. We do know the Ecobutton is made Shenzen, China, in a factory used by Disney and Walmart. With such big name contractors, we can make some small positive assumptions about working conditions in the factory.

As you may have gathered, we're not big fans of the Ecobutton. Shame really, since there's been a good run lately of gadgets bearing the 'Eco' prefix, from the Eco Kettle and Ecoballs through to the Eco-eye and the Eco Media Player. This, sadly, isn't one of them.

Score breakdown:

 

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