Sony Ericsson launches new GreenHeart eco phones

by Stevie Smith - Jun 4 2009, 15:45

Want to be tech savvy and on the communication bell curve, but also want to show a little love for the environment in the process? If so, then perhaps you should take a moment to peruse the finer points of two new decidedly ‘green’ handsets offered up by the tree huggers at Sony Ericsson.

Released to fit with the handset maker’s plans “to reduce carbon dioxide emissions across the entire company by 20 percent in the next five years,” Sony Ericsson has this week unveiled the eco-friendly and aptly named C901 GreenHeart and Naite handsets.

Labelled as flagship phones, both of the new “GreenHeart pioneer products” are built on Sony Ericsson’s leading “green core,” which is the result of a longstanding commitment to eliminate the use of hazardous chemicals throughout its mobile phone portfolio.

Other factors contributing to the overall ‘greenery’ of the new handsets include up to 90 percent reduced paper usage via a preloaded e-manual, smaller exterior and interior packaging, recycled plastics, solvent-free paint, optimised display light sensors, and a low-power mains charger – all of which combine to help reduce the GreenHeart line’s carbon dioxide emissions by 15 percent.

With their eco-warrior status well and truly established, what of the C901 and Naite’s technical prowess? Do their features and functions suffer as a result of increased environmental focus? No, not really.

The candybar C901, which also comes complete with an MH300 GreenHeart headset, supports both EDGE and HSDPA network connectivity, offers a 5.0 mega pixel camera (with geo-tagging and face detection), and provides users with Internet browsing capabilities. Other integrated green features on the C901 include WalkMate, which is a pedometer application that compares physical steps against journeys travelled by car.

The Naite handset, which enables users to apply the EcoMate application to help them lead more ecologically sound lives, comes with a modest 2.0 mega pixel camera, single-touch video, picture blogging, 100MBs of memory, and memory expansion via an on-board MicroSD slot.

The C901 GreenHeart will hit retail before the close of June, while the Naite is scheduled to arrive in the third quarter. Both phones are expected through O2. Prices have not yet been confirmed.

Reaching beyond a 20 percent cut in its carbon dioxide production by 2015, Sony Ericsson has also said the same timeline is being applied to a 15 percent reduction of total greenhouse gas emissions across the full life cycle of its products, ranging from mining, production, through to consumer usage and end of life management.

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