MWC 09 - LG Shows Eco-Friendly Solar Panel Mobile

Samsung isn’t the only one interested in saving the environment with a mobile. LG's also showcased their own mobile handset with a solar panel battery at MWC. This solar-powered handset is part of the company’s aggressive green initiative.

“Using renewable solar energy in the mobile handset is an example of our ongoing efforts to help create a safer, cleaner environment for our customers,” said Dr. Skott Ahn, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. “LG continues to research and invest in creating products that not only provide a better experience for consumers, but also encourage an environmentally responsible lifestyle.”

The phone’s solar power system is embedded onto the battery cover, to conveniently harness the sun’s limitless and pollution-free energy. By simply pointing the phone’s solar panel at natural light, the panel will convert solar energy into electricity without needing to be plugged in. Exposing the panel to the sun for ten minutes will give the phone enough power for a three-minute call, making it the perfect companion for emergency situations when no power is available to charge a dead battery. If left in natural light for long periods, the solar panel creates enough standby power to power the phone without any charging devices.

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LG is also introducing green packaging to its entire line of 2009 mobile handset models. The eco-friendly packaging saves natural resources and promotes easy recycling by printing with soy inks and using recycled paper and cardboard without laminate coating.

The company also plans to make its mobile handsets free of halogenated substances, a known endocrine disruptor, by removing Brominated flame retardants (BFR), chlorinated flame retardants (CFR) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the manufacturing process by 2010 and will make all handsets antimony-free by 2012.

LG recently announced its “Life’s Good When It’s Green” initiative, the foundation of its global sustainability program at Consumer Electronics Show 2009. The worldwide program focuses on sustainability through Eco-Design and Eco-Products, the reduction of hazardous substances, responsible take-back programs and recycling facilities, and addressing global climate change.

The LG Solar-powered handset, Bluetooth solar car kit and new green packaging will all be showcased at the Mobile World Congress 2009 in Barcelona. LG plans to release this eco-friendly phone in the European market at the end of this year; the price is yet to be revealed.