Samsung's Blue Earth is saving the world from behind glass

The entirety of civilization seems fairly well and dedicated to one-upping each other in the "green" department, and Samsung is looking to up the ante once again by stating that "blue is the new green" and putting out the new Blue Earth solar phone to prove it. Sadly, the Blue Earth isn't quite ready to go -- currently it's only to be seen in non-working mockup form, though the hardware is certainly looking good. Samsung's showing off its eco-packaging and built-in energy-saving functionality, including an "Eco Walk" function to let you know how many trees you save by walking places. The phone itself is built from castor bean extract and recycled plastic, and Samsung claims the integrated solar panel saves up to 34.6% of the battery's energy. They're also showing off a hand-crank generator, external solar chargers, and even a solar-charged stereo headset. It's clear that Samsung isn't just playing lip service to green (or blue, as the case may be) but at this point in time this technology is likely to act more as a gimmick and promise of things to come than a truly life-changing device.

Gallery: Samsung's Blue Earth is saving the world from behind glass

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[TT @ Feb 18th 2009 7:38AM]

Sure, solar panels are nice.
But if they really wanna do something "Green" (Or blue in this occasion), they'd be better off trying to create a more "eco-friendly" PCB, that has both extremely low power usage and, most importantly, less dangerous chemicals.
(Yes, most chemicals used in PCBs aren't exactly healthy for you, or the environment)
And ofcourse less power usage overall.
(Screen and transmitters)

[mb411 @ Feb 18th 2009 7:58AM]

Do they know that the analogue clock does match the time? I personally laughed...

[Brazell @ Feb 18th 2009 9:29AM]

drives me crazy. It's like every pic of android too.. the times never match.

[Anthony @ Feb 18th 2009 12:09PM]

ahahah yea those dam graphics designers are crap when it comes to paying attention to realistic details -__-"

oh well, makes me feel smarter ;]

[mb411 @ Feb 18th 2009 8:00AM]

*does not match the time (geez, im as big of a loser as the guy who designed this)

[bjay @ Feb 18th 2009 8:58AM]

lol, the designer must be a real m***n

[Ntafy @ Feb 18th 2009 8:09AM]

TT, yes, I agree...

Now, if that thing ran Android as well... :D ...I think a lot of us would already be inlove

[PoisonWolf @ Feb 18th 2009 8:48AM]

This is a step in the right direction. After all, every path begins with a single step!

[shawnbaybutt @ Feb 18th 2009 8:53AM]

Thats right PoisonWolf, ya gotta dream to make it so.

[iKurt Mark III @ Feb 18th 2009 9:07AM]

Can't they at least make it look as good or better than the iPhone?

[Rocketboy @ Feb 18th 2009 9:09AM]

"an "Eco Walk" function to let you know how many trees you save by walking places"

But my car does not burn wood. I'm confused.

[Joe @ Feb 18th 2009 9:11AM]

"...including an "Eco Walk" function to let you know how many trees you save by walking places."

How does walking save trees? Do they think our cars run on paper? Are we prone to driving into trees? Or does walking give us the opportunity to spot (and save) trees in peril?

[Adderz @ Feb 18th 2009 9:21AM]

That looks like Android 0.8 ??

[369EkO @ Feb 18th 2009 10:25AM]

TOUCHWIZ

[suicycle.com @ Feb 18th 2009 10:30AM]

It is always nice to see large companies using their R&D to try to preserve more of our planet's resources... and to be creative enough to still make a profit so they can pay their employees and owners.

[ronald.raygun @ Feb 18th 2009 3:39PM]

the tech behind this and environmentally friendliness is great but can you make it look like a normal color and not that mid 90's pepsi can blue fade, ew