Mobile Phones Go Green

For a long time now the mobile phone industry has been accused of falling behind when it comes to being kind to the planet, but this week it was announced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, that all that was about the change.

Firstly, with the introduction of the universal charger which includes a 50% reduction in standby energy. All five of the UK’s mobile companies have signed up to it and the GSMA has promised that by 2012, the majority of phones shipped will be using it.

Even more exciting, however, is the announcement by Samsung of its latest handset, powered by sunlight. The Blue Earth as it’s called, chargeable for up to 15 hours using a solar panel positioned on the back, is due to go on sale later this year. Although the entry point will, predictably, be at the top end of the price range, this is a leap forward that marks significant progress towards making future mobile technology more sustainable.

All we need now is for the Apple iPhone to follow suit and we’re really talking…