IT NEWS     Sustainability    Get JOB ALERTS that match your skills
Technology news and Jobs arrow Information Technology News arrow Samsung's corny phone answers the eco call
Samsung's corny phone answers the eco call PDF E-mail
User Rating: / 0
PoorBest 
by Stephen Withers   
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
Green is the new black as far as the ICT industry is concerned, and it's spreading to mobile phones with Samsung bringing out a handset made from corn. The new phone is part of a trend to make handsets more eco-friendly.

Samsung's first efforts in this regard will appear this month in Korea and China.

The W510 for the Korean market is in this regard the more advanced of the two. Instead of using plastics manufactured from oil (you've seen what's happened to petrol prices - it just takes longer for skyrocketing crude prices to work through to the cash register for other products), the company has chosen a bio-plastic derived from corn.

While corn is a renewable resource, concerns have been expressed about its diversion from food supplies to produce vehicle fuels and other products.

Another welcome feature of the W510 is the absence of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium.

Also new from Samsung is the F268. To be sold in China, this handset features an alarm to indicate when it is fully charged to avoid wasting power, and its accessories contain no brominated flame retardants (BFRs) or PVC.

BFRs are widely used in the electronics industry. The compounds accumulate in the food chain and in the human body, and are thought to present heath risks. Their use has been banned or restricted in some jurisdictions.

What are other phone companies doing to msake their products eco-friendlier? See page 2.



 
< Next story in category   Previous story in the category >
  •   *  
  • Search
  • AdvSeach
  • Login
  • Events
  • FreeStuff
Subscribe to our free e-newsletter
First name:
Last name:
Your email address:
Your role:
Your industry:
Australian state:
Country:
Enter the security code shown:
mandatory
Contact , Register , Advertise with iTWire , Links , About iTWire , Feedback , Post your jobs , Events , iTWire site map , Start Blogging , MyBlogLog page
Industry Releases , Submit your release now