© 2009 EarthSmiles.net . All rights reserved. Made from 100% recycled pixels. Of all new age, planet friendly equipment, the solar powered mobile phone is breakthrough power management and material creativity, more than in communication technology.
How green is your 'phone?
By Nikita Grosser
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THE GREEN TEAM
Samsung
• S5500E Lydford – made from recycled materials, packaged in recycled paper.
Built in alarm that signals when the battery is fully charged.
• Blue Earth - solar panels on the back to generate power to charge the phone. Made from recycled water bottles, RoHS. Sports a new user interface making it easy to activate the phone’s energy saving mode. It includes a pedometer, and CO2 emissions calculator, and minimal packaging made entirely from recycled paper.
• Reclaim - is 80% recyclable and made mostly of corn-based bio-plastics, eliminated the paper manual and its recyclable packaging is printed with soy-based ink.
Sony
• C901 GreenHeart and Naite - both phones have electronic in-phone manual to replace, paper versions to minimize the use of paper and the overall size of packaging. The phones are made with waterborne paints that are considered less toxic.
LG
• Has not named its newest solar powered cell phone but has promised to use green packaging and also to print user manuals with soy ink on recycled paper. The eco-phone from LG has a solar panel on its battery cover and gives three minutes of talk time for ten minutes of exposure to sunlight.
Motorola
• Renew W233 - is the first certified Carbonfree cell phone made from recycled water bottles. Has 9 hours of talk time thus a long lasting battery life to save on energy. Packaging consumes 22% less material and the manuals are all made from 100% recycled paper and all printing is done with soy inks. In addition a prepaid shipping envelope is included for customers to use to recycle their old device.
Nokia
• ReMade - made from 100% recycled materials, the screen and circuit board use techniques like printed electronics to minimize environmental impact. The phone has energy-saving graphics and other eco-friendly features.
• 3110 Evolve - cover is made partially from renewable materials, the packaging is 60% recycled materials, and Nokia’s most energy efficient charger. | | .Feedback! |
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| A lot of our electrical equipment and home appliances nowadays are being made keeping the environment and power saving capacity in mind. In India, air conditioners, microwaves and computers are being rated in “BEE stars”, according to their power saving ability – and companies are rushing with greener products as the consumer is more informed on planet-friendliness.
The latest green gadget? The amazing solar powered mobile phone. Of all new age planet friendly equipment; the solar powered mobile phone is breakthrough power management more than in communication technology. The first of these phones was introduced in China, sometime during 2007* by HiTech Wealth Telecommunications, was called S116. The phone came with a 1.3 megapixel camera and an MP3 player, but the solar panel was its most outstanding feature. The panel trickle-charges the battery in any amount of light, including indoors (or even by candlelight), and the battery life is 2.5 times longer than it would without the panels. An hour of direct sunlight will give users 40 extra minutes of talk time!
Bigger brands are now joining the eco bandwagon, with latest in eco-phones being introduced by Samsung, as it plans to launch its new “one-of-a-kind phone” - S5500E Lydford. This slider phone sports a 2.2 inch QVGA screen, HSDPA connectivity, a 3-megapixel camera and is made completely of recycled materials and its packaging is done with recycled paper. In addition the phone has a built in alarm that signals when the battery is fully charged. But the price and expected date of release of this phone is unknown.
 However, Samsung already has a few green gadgets to its name, the Blue Earth is one such gadget. It is a touch phone powered by the sun as it has solar panels on the back which can generate enough power to charge the phone whenever needed. The body is made out of recycled water bottles and has no brominated flame retardants, beryllium and phthalates, (all incredibly toxic substances.) It also includes a pedometer, and CO2 emissions calculator, and Samsung like other similar products has minimalist packaging made entirely from recycled paper. The Reclaim is another phone by Samsung which falls under the eco-phone category, the environmentally conscious smart-phone is 80% recyclable and made mostly of corn-based bio-plastics. The phone is also equipped with QWERTY keyboard, 3G network, GPS and one-click access to social-networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and YouTube. They have also eliminated the paper manual and its recyclable packaging is printed with soy-based ink. There is no denying that Samsung has made huge efforts to produce products that are not only green but also serves the current communication need of the consumers.
Sony also announced two new eco-phones which may have minimal features but promise to be earth-friendly. The phones, called C901 GreenHeart which has a 5 megapixel camera, music player, web browser and email with a 2.2-inch screen, and Naite with similar features as the C901 but only a 2 megapixel camera, both phones have electronic in-phone manual to replace, paper versions to minimize the use of paper and the overall size of packaging. The phones are made with waterborne paints that are considered less toxic.
LG is next in line when it comes to eco-phones. The unnamed solar powered handset from LG may not be much when compared with rival Samsung, but LG has promised to use green packaging and also to print user manuals with soy ink on recycled paper. The eco-phone from LG has a solar panel on its battery cover and gives 3 minutes of talk time for 10 minutes of exposure to sunlight.
Motorola Renew (W233) is another much talked about eco-friendly mobile phone. It is the first certified Carbonfree cell phone made from recycled water bottles. The Renew is the first carbon-neutral mobile phone. Through an alliance with Carbonfund.org, Motorola offset carbon dioxide manufacturing requirements by distributing and operating the phone through renewable energy sources. The phone has up to 9 hours of talk time thus a long lasting battery life to save on energy. The packaging consumes 22% less material and the manuals are all made from 100% recycled paper and all printing is done with soy inks. In addition a prepaid shipping envelope is included for customers to use to recycle their old device.
Nokia’s ReMade also known as the clamshell phone is made from 100% recycled materials the shell is made from recycled aluminum cans, a chassis made of plastic from drinking water bottles and rubber parts made from old car tires, the screen and circuit board use techniques like printed electronics to minimize environmental impact. Additionally, this phone has energy-saving graphics and other eco-friendly features. Nokia also has the 3110 Evolve, which appears to be an evolved version of the 3110 classic, it comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, FM radio, and tri-band GSM radio. The cover is made partially from renewable materials, the packaging is 60% recycled materials, and Nokia’s most energy efficient charger.
These are only a few of the incredible earth-friendly phones on the market and there are still more to come. So if you are as concerned about our home planet as much as we are then why not upgrade to a greener gadget and help keep planet a little healthier. One talk-minute at a time.
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