1. The Problem That Apple’s Stellar Rise and
RIM’s Spectacular Fall Presents
Pundits have long been clamoring that Research In Motion, whose
BlackBerry brand was once synonymous to smartphones, is now
sailing in stormy waters, with the company’s total collapse expected
to happen before the end of 2013. Last May BlackBerry World 2012
convention was expected to turn the tide; and it might have, since
the BlackBerry 10 gave a rather good showing with everything
pointing to RIM now able to catch up with the competition. RIM CEO
Thorsten Heins has long been saying that with the BB 10, the
company gave their all to make sure that the OS would be their
saving grace from an imminent demise, and the BB 10 demo at the
convention showed that.
The problem was that Apple came out with their iOS 6 presentation a
month later, decidedly leaving RIM in the dust, and forcing former
Berry stalwarts to consider a BlackBerry trade in.
Talk of the merits of both OSes aside, the two extremes in sales
figures posted by each respective company presents a whole other
problem: That of e-waste.
E-waste, short for electronic waste, is pollution generated by
discarded electronic devices. This type of pollution is doubly
dangerous because, aside from the accumulation of plastics and
silicon in landfills (both of them already notoriously hard to dispose of

2. as it is), e-waste also producesbiohazardous chemicals like lead,
cadmium, and beryllium which leak from batteries, capacitors, and
other electronic components.
This two-pronged attack (solid and chemical waste, that is) on the
environment is definite cause for concern, prompting some people to
sell used laptop or BlackBerrys instead of throwing them away
outright. While a satisfactory enough solution, an even better one
would be e-recycling.
E-recycling is a type of waste management that was developed
specifically to combat e-waste. It has three elements to it that make
it a much better alternative than merely selling or giving gadgets
away. The first one is that it refurbishes these old and used electronic
devices to make them look and work as if brand new. The second one
is that, since they are second-hand gadgets, they are sold at lower
price points. Coupled with their redressing to look like new, what we
have are gadgets that are very attractive to budget-savvy consumers.
Third (and most importantly), e-recycling is a green-focused venture
first and foremost. This means that not only does it dispose of
unusable electronic parts under the strictest compliance with set

3. green standards, but every facet of its process – from power
generation to materials used and whatnot – also follow said
standards.
Clearly, e-recyclingis a win-win-win situation for everyone involved:
The seller, the buyer, and the environment. With a prospect such as
that, it’s hard to say no to this. So before you head off to sell used
BlackBerrys in anticipation of better smartphone alternatives, think
about the environment. Head over to the nearest e-recycling center
and do your part to help ensure a greener and brighter tomorrow.
After all, what’s the point of having all the nifty technologies the
future promises us if we can’t even guarantee that future’s existence
in the first place?
Source: Technomatic
http://emdhie.blog.com/2012/08/28/the-problem-that-apple%E2%80%99s-stellar-rise-and-rim%E2%80%99s-spectacular-fall-
presents/