Something strange is happening to me. I was having lunch with a friend last week when he suddenly looked up from his plate and said, “I just realized that you drove up to meet me at a vegetarian restaurant driving your new hybrid car with your bicycle on a trunk rack on the back. Who are you and what have you done with my beer-drinking buddy, Chris?!”

Sure, part of my attitude change has come from the upward spiral of fuel costs. I just couldn’t afford to drive a Tahoe anymore so I traded it in on a Camry. I really think that the Greening of America is getting to me. I’m not a fanatic about it, and I don’t know what my carbon footprint is. But when I encounter a choice between doing something that is more socially responsible than the same old, same old, it’s becoming more natural (no pun intended) to take the greener option.

The folks at CREDO Mobile are trying to make it easier to go green with regard to your telecommunications. So if you’re a lazy environmentalist like me, take a look at their latest developments along with an update to my review of the CREDO Solio Charger after the jump.

CREDO Mobile, the greenest mobile company in the U.S., today unveiled the availability of two new eco-friendly mobile accessories, making it even easier for socially conscious consumers to make a difference simply by using the products. The only wireless service to offer the products, the company’s new Iqua Solar Bluetooth headset and the Tread phone case allow consumers to have the latest technology while driving social change with every call they make.

“People should expect more from their phone company,” said Laura Scher, CEO of CREDO, a division of Working Assets. “At CREDO we’re about making sure everyday tasks like talking on your cellphone yield big impact. We understand that our members want to effect change in the world but may not feel they have the tools to do so. By continuing to deliver new, easy-to-use products, we unify everyday necessities with positive social change.”

In addition to the environmental benefits of the mobile accessory line, CREDO Mobile takes its commitment one step further as the only mobile phone company to donate one percent of revenue—including mobile accessories, phones and calling plans—to progressive groups such as Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network and Endangered Species Coalition. CREDO members can expect this “money-forward” guarantee with every call they make or product they purchase through CREDO. To date, members of CREDO Mobile and its parent company, Working Assets, have donated $60 million to these and other progressive organizations.

CREDO Mobile’s eco-friendly product line includes:

• CREDO Iqua Solar Bluetooth headset: the first solar-powered Bluetooth headset that draws its energy from the sun. It features 200 hours standby time and up to twelve hours of talk time and is compatible with most phones, smart phones, and any other Bluetooth enabled devices.

• CREDO Tread handset case: a fully functional handset case made with recycled tires that otherwise would typically be burned or added to landfills. Recycling the small amount of rubber needed to make one Tread case eliminates the emissions of 200 trillion molecules of benzo(a)pyrene, a hazardous gas that leads to cancer.

• The CREDO Solio Charger: a solar powered charger that charges cell phones, iPods, digital cameras and other devices using the sun’s energy. According to the Fraunhofer Institute, in just one year, one hundred thousand users charging their cell phones creates 172 lbs of CO2 – the equivalent of six million basketballs. By using the CREDO Solio Charger, consumers are reducing their carbon footprint without compromising functionality and performance.

In addition to the mobile accessory line, CREDO Mobile offers a wide variety of phones for its members including the Sanyo S1 and Katana II, and Motorola MOTO Q.

Pricing and Availability:
• The CREDO Iqua Bluetooth Headset retails at $99.99.
• The CREDO Tread Handset Case retails at $24.95.
• The CREDO Solio Charger retails at $99.95.
• Products are available at www.credomobile.com.

When I reviewed the CREDO Solio Charger last month, I unfortunately did not have the charging tip for my Treo 680, so my analusis was kind of anecdotal. But as I hasten to remind the wonderful techies here on the GearDiary team, I was a History major, so I tend to talk about everything anecdotally anyway.

Luckily, the team from CREDO sent me Treo charging tip so I could get all quantitative on y’all. As I wrote before the CREDO Solio has three distinct uses as a power source: a direct charger, a solar charger and a sort of an external battery storage device. I tried all three with my Treo.

First off, I plugged the Solio into the wall and charged it overnight until it gave me the full charge indicator of five blinks. At the same time I allowed my Treo to discharge down to a 3% energy level. I plugged the Treo charging tip into the phone and watched the power meter count up as the charge transferred from device to device. After about 1 1/2 hours, the Solio read empty and the Treo read 82% charge. That’s plenty for a couple days of usage by me and comparable to a similar amount of time of direct charging through the Treo’s USB adapter.

My next experiment was the solar option. On a partly cloudy day at about 36 degrees north latitude (look at me with my bad scientific self), it took about five hours to charge the Solio up to about a 40% charge. This provided enough power to increase the battery level of my Treo from 61% to 75% over the course of an hour. Enough to get you out of a jam or make a call home on a camping trip, but probably not quite efficient enough to use as your primary charging method.

The way I suggested that I would probably use the CREDO Solio Charger in my first review was as an alternate external battery/charger option. If I had access to an outlet overnight, then great charge away. If I was marooned with the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, they’d be glad I had my Solio with me. But most likely, I’ll just keep the Solio charged and ready in my gear bag for emergencies since it’s always ready to go.

However to work this way, it is necessary that the CREDO Solio be able to hold a charge over time. My final test was to give it a full charge from an outlet and then forget about it for a couple of weeks. If you would prefer, you could also take the absolutely greenest route and leave it charging in a windowsill over time until you get a full charge. After over two weeks, the Solio still read fully charged. True to form, it gave my Treo the same 82% battery charge after 1 1/2 hours. That’s perfectly acceptable to me. Plus, I get to feel all self-righteous and that’s the best part of going green. Look out for a “smug alert” in a moving three-foot radius around me.