Cool green gear: Samsung's solar-powered 'Blue Earth' cell phone

Designed to resemble a flat and well rounded shiny pebble (think pretty rocks in a bubbling brook glittering in the sun), Samsung’s Blue Earth is the world’s first solar powered full-touch screen phone. The solar panel located on the back of the phone allows it to generate enough power to call anytime, anywhere.

The body of the device is constructed from PCM; a recycled plastic derived from discarded water bottles, which helps reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions during the manufacturing process. The device, including charger, is free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardants, Beryllium and Phthalate.

Eco-friendly Power Options
Simple to set screen brightness, backlight duration and Bluetooth to an energy-efficient mode, the user interface allows the user to be energy-efficient with just one click of ‘Eco mode’. Through the ‘eco walk’ function the user can count their steps with an in-built pedometer, calculating how much CO2 emissions have been reduced by walking as opposed to motor transport. This unique function allows user to calculate the value of this footprint through the number of trees that have been saved.

Even the product’s packaging is eco-friendly, made from recycled paper, and included a 5-star energy efficient charger that uses standby power lower than 0.03W.

“Samsung’s ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ demonstrates our small but meaningful commitments for the future and our environment,” said Mr. JK Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Mobile Communication Division of Samsung Electronics. “We are committed to achieving the highest eco-status with our customers and business partners by providing the best eco-products and promoting eco-activities.”

All of this sounds great, but the new phone already his its critics. Charlie Sorrel of Wired’s Gadget Lab is an obvious skeptic, stating: “This is just annoying, and exactly the sort of thing smug Prius owners would like. It reminds me of the kind of vegan who eats wholemeal pasta — a form of self flagellation designed only to telegraph their pious intentions to us less morally aware mortals.”

About Samsung’s “Blue Earth Dream”
The Blue Earth Dream conveys hope and sets goals for sustainable growth and life. In increasing environmental awareness, Samsung is developing ways to reduce CO2 emissions and to save energy at every stage of the product life cycle, as an effective response to climate change. Milestones have been put in place to eliminate hazardous substances from handsets and packaging will be designed from recycled materials. Samsung will encourage its customers to recycle handsets at a growing number of special take-back points worldwide.

Learn more about ‘The Blue Earth Dream’ and other eco-friendly initiatives at www.samsungmwc.com.