Environmentally Friendly Communication

Mobile phones are turning a friendlier shade of “green”, thanks to two new phone release later this month from Samsung.   Samsung announced the release of the W510 for the Korean market and the F268 for the Chinese market at the World IT Show in Seoul.

According to this techradar article, the W510 is made from bio-plastic; a natural material extracted from corn.  Heavy metals such as Lead, Mercury or Cadmium have not been used in the construction of the phone – even the coating is water-soluble.

The F268 does not contain BFR’s (Brominated Flame Retardant), which could be environmentally unfriendly when disposed of, and it doesn’t contain PVC either.  The F268 also includes an alarm that will sound when the battery has fully charged, which will hopefully prompt users to unplug their charger.  The phone also follows the energy-efficiency guidelines that have been set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Department of Energy.

“Samsung is striving to continue to be a strong corporate citizen that contributes to environmental sustainability,” said Geesung Choi, President of Samsung’s Telecommunication Business.  “Now, we are trying not only to launch more environmentally–conscious products with more renewable material and less energy consuming, but also to expand proactively, setting up a phone recycling system.”

It’s great to see new products embracing the goals for a more environmentally friendly future, and taking on the challenge to ensure technology moves forward at a price that’s not so costly to Mother Earth.