Samsung Reveals Another Eco-Friendly Handset

Samsung is on a very serious Eco kick these days and I for one am quite pleased with the idea of mobile handsets going Eco-friendly. The latest handset from Samsung to embrace the Earth is the small slider called the Reclaim. The handset that’s been launched in the US with Sprint is constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials and made from 80 percent recyclable materials.

Its bio-plastic material, made from corn, makes up 40 percent of the Reclaim’s outer casing. Samsung Reclaim is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR): three materials commonly targeted on green electronics guidelines. The outer packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled materials. The images and text on the box as well as the phone warranty information are printed with soy-based ink. The charger is Energy Star approved for meeting the highest energy efficiency standards set by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. It consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption and is equipped with a visible notification to alert the user to unplug the handset once it’s fully charged.

“Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-friendly device, it’s also a powerful and stylish p hone that’s easy-to-use,” said Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile. “When you combine the Reclaim’s impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-friendly packaging, you’re using a phone that is good for you and the environment.”

A new green One Click tile makes its debut on Reclaim providing the gateway to several green applications including:

1. Five Simple Steps from Discovery Channel provides five simple changes you can make to be more eco-friendly, from how you commute to what you eat for dinner;
2. Green Guides from Discovery Channel offers handy guides to help you green your lives with ease, and understand why;
3. Green Glossary from Discovery Channel provides words and explanations about the Earth and Climate Change; and
4. All Things Green, a Sprint Web category contains dynamic green headline and links to downloadable content.

The handset also features -

• 3G Connectivity
• A QWERTY keypad,
• quick access to such social networks
  
  as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube
• Sprint Navigation with Search, providing easy access to directory information and GPS-enabled directions
• 2 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP
• expandable memory storage up to 32GB

The handset will be available only in the US via Sprint with a two-year service agreement. When customers purchase a Samsung Reclaim from Sprint, $2 of the proceeds will benefit The Nature Conservancy’s Adopt an Acre program, which supports land conservation across the United States and protects some of the world’s most beautiful and important natural habitats. It’s available in two color options - Earth Green and Ocean Blue. I'm sure we'd love to see there as well but there's no word of that just yet.