Samsung Restore coming to Sprint, has its eye on saving the world

Looking for a landscape QWERTY slider that's 84 percent recyclable? Well, you've pretty much pigeonholed yourself into the Samsung Restore, Sprint's latest in a line of eco-friendly devices that kicked off in earnest with the Reclaim last year. Like the others, the Restore is a fairly basic device with a 2 megapixel camera, microSD expansion up to 32GB, stereo Bluetooth, and a pair of keypads for operation both in the closed and open positions -- needless to say, you won't find even a hint of a smartphone operating system here. It comes bundled with an Energy Star 2.0-compliant charger which, conveniently, sits in a 100 percent recyclable box without a user manual -- it's only available online so you can feel good about saving a tree or two (not to say you won't be able to master the phone on your own within an hour or two anyway). Look for it to launch "this Summer" in your choice of "Midnight" or "Limeade" for $50 on contract after rebate. Follow the break for Samsung's press release.
%Gallery-91250%

Show full PR text

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., and DALLAS – April 20, 2010 – Sprint (NYSE: S) and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the United States1, continue to lead the wireless industry in providing eco-friendly wireless phones with today's unveiling of their second "green" device together – Samsung Restore™. Samsung Restore features the award-winning Sprint One Click customizable user interface and offers environmentally conscious customers the perfect blend of technology with an environmentally friendly design.

Samsung Restore will be available this summer in all Sprint retail channels including Sprint Stores, www.sprint.com and 1-800-SPRINT1 for $49.99 with a new two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate (taxes and surcharges excluded). For more information, customers can visit www.sprint.com/restore.

This is the third eco-friendly phone for Sprint, joining a host of eco-friendly accessories and programs already in place by the company. Samsung Reclaim™, announced last year, was the first phone in this country with components partially constructed from bio-plastic2 materials. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Reclaim recently received the Best of Green: Best New Cell Phone Award in the Science and Technology category by TreeHugger.com.

Sprint ranked highest among all U.S. telecom companies and #15 overall on Newsweek's Green Rankings, with a series of new environmental initiatives and green innovations. Sprint also scored highest among U.S.-based national wireless companies on theCarbon Disclosure Project's (CDP) 2009 Global 500 Report on carbon disclosure.

"Samsung Restore qualifies for the Sprint Eco-Logo and builds on Sprint's commitment to leading the wireless industry in environmental responsibility," said Kevin Packingham, Sprint senior vice president-Product Development. "We had great success with our first eco-friendly device, Samsung Reclaim, and have found that consumers want eco-friendly devices without sacrificing technology. Restore provides both and continues Sprint's great environmental commitment and legacy."

Samsung Restore is a full-feature messaging whiz, offering a slide-out, full QWERTY keyboard with optical joystick, 2.0 MP camera and camcorder, MP3 player with microSD card slot (supports up to 32GB; 2GB card included in the box), Stereo Bluetooth® wireless technology, access to Sprint Family Locator, Sprint Football Live, Sprint Navigation and Sprint TV3. Customers can easily e-mail or send texts to their family and friends in a flash. Samsung Restore will be available in two vibrant colors – Midnight and Limeade.

"Samsung Restore follows the success of Samsung Reclaim, our first eco-friendly device with Sprint," said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer for Samsung Mobile. "Restore builds on Samsung's overall commitment to the environment, which includes developing devices with eco-friendly components, including casings, reduced and recyclable packaging and Energy Star qualified chargers. Restore offers users an impressive feature set and stylish design ideal for multiple messaging capabilities."

Earth-friendly design
Samsung Restore and its packaging are designed with environmentally responsible components:


- The outer casing contains 27 percent post-consumer recycled plastic and the handset as a whole is 84 percent recyclable.



- Restore meets strict RoHS standards and only has low levels of environmentally sensitive materials (PVC, BFRs, Phthalates, Beryllium).



- The device is powered by an Energy Star Version 2.0 qualified energy efficient charger (level V); with standby power loss less than 30mW.



- The packaging is 100 percent recyclable, featuring a cardboard box made from 70 percent post consumer materials and printed with soy ink.



- The paper manual has been replaced with an online user manual, which users can access once the device is available this summer.

Restore comes pre-loaded with Sprint's One Click Green tile, giving users instant access to a collection of green, earth-friendly information and tips, including: Best of Green, a well-rounded collection of information to inspire a greener lifestyle, and Planet Green, providing tips and information to help make your life a little greener. Samsung Restore includes a unique typographic default ringer with a song called "Mother Earth." It also comes pre-loaded with eco-oriented ringers and screensavers.

Continuing Sprint's Green leadership
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse outlined Sprint's "green" product vision in August 2009, when he announced Samsung Reclaim. Since that time, Sprint delivered a set of environmental specifications for future consumer devices to all of its device manufacturers, and then went further, developing Sprint Eco-Criteria and an Eco-Logo to indicate devices that meet a more rigorous set of Sprint environmental criteria. The criteria supports Sprint's "green" product development vision and evaluates device characteristics in terms of their use of environmentally sensitive materials, energy efficiency, lifecycle management, sustainable packaging, eco-applications and eco-innovation. To learn more about Sprint's Eco-Logo and Eco-Criteria, please visit the Product Responsibility section of Sprint's Corporate Responsibility site.

As an industry leader in the reuse and recycling of wireless devices, Sprint has an aggressive, industry-first goal of reaching a 90 percent phone collection rate for reuse and recycling compared with annual wireless device sales by 2017. Sprint's recently expanded Buyback program gives a financial incentive for current and new Sprint customers to trade in any eligible cell phone, regardless of manufacturer or carrier. Customers buying Samsung Restore receive a Sprint recycling envelope in each box, making it simple for them to recycle their old device and accessories responsibly.

Designed to boost U.S. wireless recycling rates, Sprint's Buyback program offers an instant account credit to current and new Sprint subscribers who turn in up to three eligible wireless devices, per active line of service. More than 900 wireless devices are eligible for an instant account credit from Sprint. Device credits range in value from approximately $5 to more than $300, depending on the make and model of the device being turned in. To learn more about wireless recycling visit the Sprint wireless recycling Web site.

For just $69.99 per month, Sprint's affordable Everything Data 450 plan with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM pairs nicely with Samsung Restore to give customers on the Sprint network unlimited nationwide calling to or from any U.S. wireless phone, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited Web, e-mail and social networking, and unlimited GPS navigation for the same price AT&T and Verizon charge for unlimited talk only (pricing excludes surcharges and taxes).

Sprint Everything Data plans automatically enroll customers in the Sprint PremierSM loyalty program, whose benefits include annual device upgrades on the primary line, discounted accessories, six-month plan checks and "just-because" perks. Existing Sprint customers can switch to an Everything Data plan without extending their service agreement. New lines of service require a two-year service agreement.

Additionally, the Sprint Free Guarantee gives any customer opening a new line of service the chance to try Sprint for 30 days. If a customer isn't completely satisfied, they can get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get the early termination fee waived, get a full refund for service plan monthly recurring charges incurredand get all associated taxes and Sprint surcharges associated with these charges waived. Sprint will waive the restocking fee for new customer exchanges as part of this policy.

The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 278 million people, 18,900 cities and 1,855 airports. The 3G Sprint Mobile Broadband Network (inclusive of data roaming) has more than twice the coverage of AT&T's current 3G network and more than 10 times the coverage of T-Mobile's current 3G network, both based on square miles4.

For more information on Sprint programs which protect the environment, go to www.sprint.com/green, or follow @SprintGreenNews on Twitter.

Samsung Mobile Green Leadership
Samsung takes pride in its long-standing commitment to the environment. Samsung provides Energy Star qualified power adapters for mobile phones and accessories, and the Samsung Mobile Take Back program allows consumers to send in their cell phones, free of charge, to be properly disposed of. Additionally, Samsung Mobile has collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) "Plug-In To eCycling" National Cell Phone Recycling Week, to help collect and recycle cell phones through existing programs and sponsorships.

Earlier this year, Samsung Mobile announced an active program to encourage recycling of mobile phones – the Samsung Mobile March to a Million. Through the March to a Million initiative, Samsung Mobile pledges to collect 1 million mobile phones for recycling in 2010.

Samsung Mobile's March to a Million program supports Samsung's Eco-Management 2013 Plan announced in July 2009. The plan details a comprehensive set of sustainability goals to be achieved by Samsung in 2013, which include the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manufacturing and product, the development of eco-friendly product, financial investment in eco-management initiatives, and enhanced green partnerships with suppliers and partners.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving more than 48 million customers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The company's customer-focused strategy has led to improved first call resolution and customer care satisfaction scores. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

About Samsung Telecommunications America
Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, a Dallas-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., researches, develops and markets wireless handsets and telecommunications products throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of (US)$116.7 billion.
Employing approximately 157,700 people in 185 offices across 65 countries,
the company consists of seven independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT- LCDs. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com.