Looking to Go Green? Check Out These Eco-Friendly Phones

These days, going green is all the rage. Environmentally friendly electronic goodies are popping up all over the place, from solar powered phones to energy saving chargers. The question remains, however: Are green phones worth the trouble?

It’s a common misconception that buying eco-friendly products means that you’re somehow getting less for your pound. Here are a few excellent products that allow you to be environmentally friendly without compromising quality or style.

Sony Ericsson Is Giving Back

Sony Ericsson boasts a number of green policies. Not only do they regulate the regular recycling of their mobile phones, but they also strive to use earth friendly materials in the manufacture of their phones, making them easier to recycle and break down for spare parts.

However, if you’re looking for high quality phones that are Mother Earth approved, Sony Ericsson has recently announced their latest contribution toward green electronics: The GreenHeart™ Portfolio.

This collection consists of two brand new phones: The C901 GreenHeartâ„¢ and the Naite. Included with the C901 is the MH300 GreenHeartâ„¢ headset, while the Naite boasts an EP300 GreenHeartâ„¢ charger, which helps enormously in your energy-saving endeavours.

All of these devices are made from recycled materials and styled up with vivid waterborne paints. The package also boasts minimal, recycled packaging. Rather than include a paper instruction booklet, they’ve installed an e-manual inside the phone instead.

There are a variety of green applications as well. For example, The C901 comes with a light sensor that aids in saving energy. You’ll also enjoy the WalkMate application, which helps you decide whether to walk or drive to any given location by determining how many steps you would have to take to get there.

The Naite is also interesting in that it includes the EcoMate, which has a variety of interesting applications, including a Carbon Footprint calculator. Its charger is also invaluable in saving energy.

Users will enjoy a plethora of other popular features as well.

A glimpse at the C901 GreenHeartâ„¢ reveals a 5.0 megapixel Cybershot camera with 16x digital zoom and a Xenon flash, a sophisticated media player with PlayNowâ„¢ and TrackIDâ„¢, a fairly quick Bluetoothâ„¢ internet connection with Youtubeâ„¢ and Google Mapsâ„¢, and a 120 MB memory bank with additional memory card support.

You also get 9.5 hours of talk time, while standby is as much as 430 hours. Combine all this with a stylish casing painted in Ocean White with and you have a stylish, feature packed phone that can also shrink your carbon footprint.

And what of the Naite? This mobile comes in two colours: Vapour Silver and Ginger Red. 2.0 megapixel Cybershot camera, media player with Bluetoothâ„¢ stereo, Access Netfrontâ„¢ browser with Googleâ„¢ search, Bluetoothâ„¢ internet connectivity, are sure to please.

You also get 100MB of memory as well as a wealth of 3D games and other goodies. Talk time is up to 9 hours and 40 minutes, with 380 hours of standby.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see why environmentally conscious gadget lovers will be thrilled with what these phones have to offer.

Samsung Is Thinking Blue

Samsung fans will be overjoyed with their Blue Earth phone. One of the most striking features this phone possesses is its appearance. With all of the usual khaki or green colours associated with most earth friendly products, the Blue Earth, with its rounded shape and pretty azure hue, is a breath of fresh air.

When it comes to green devices, this phone is one of the most innovative of the market. Its casing is made largely recycled water bottles. Its enormous touchscreen can be set to ‘Eco Mode’, allowing you to save energy by lowering the screen’s brightness. You can also control the backlight and Bluetooth™ with this function.

Flip the phone over to reveal its huge solar panel. This by itself makes the phone ideal for users who don’t have the time to charge their phone or can’t find a place to plug in. The phone’s charger, incidentally, is energy efficient as well.

Like many green phones, Samsung has also included a handy pedometer as well as several other applications, such as the one that calculates how much CO2 you’ve minimised by walking.

Interested users will definitely want to keep an eye out for the Blue Earth. There are more details to come regarding the phone’s other features.

LG is Going Green

LG’s latest creation may not seem as snazzy as Samsung’s Blue Earth, but they’re doing their part. The as-of-yet unnamed handset revealed at the 2009 Mobile World Congress features a convenient solar powered battery cover. It’s been revealed that leaving the phone to charge in the sun for ten minutes can create enough energy to charge the phone for three minutes.

It was also revealed that they are in the process of manufacturing a solar panel that can be affixed to any LG phone, new or old, allowing you the opportunity to turn any LG phone into an eco-friendly one and stay powered up on the go at the same time.

What else is LG up to when it comes to the green agenda? The company revealed its new plans to reduce the usage of harmful substances in their mobiles, such as flame retardants, lead, mercury, and several others. They also plan to include more environmentally friendly packaging as well. Not only are they using recycled cardboard and paper without laminates, but their instruction manuals are also constructed from recycled paper and soy ink to promote easy biodegradability.

LG is showing a lot of potential with these proceedings. It’s certainly worth watching over the upcoming months as they continue to develop and augment their ideas.

Recycle Your Old Phones

Best of all, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and LG Electronics all provide ways to recycle mobile phones, allowing you to put your old mobiles to good use should you purchase any of these green phones. Incidentally, all of the phones mentioned are designed and built with recycling in mind, allowing you to dispose of an unwanted green phone with zero guilt.

 
 
Sources http://www.lge.com/about/press_release/detail/21098_1.jhtml
http://www.66mobile.com/devices/sony-ericsson-c901-greenheart-and-naite-environmental-friendly-mobile-phones.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/mobile-phones/4641867/Mobile-World-Congress-Samsungs-solar-powered-phone.html