Next-gen cell phone stars shine

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Samsung really pulled out the stops this year in terms of innovation, and one of the most unusual handsets in its lineup is the Blue Earth, which the company bills as "the first solar-powered full-touch phone." It has a solar panel on the back and comes with a couple of eco-conscious applications, including an eco-walk calculator that uses a built-in pedometer to figure out how many steps you've taken -- and then calculates how much CO₂ emission you've saved by walking instead of driving.

Even the packaging for the phone is eco-friendly (made from recycled paper), and its charger (for when there's not enough sun to power the device) is rated five-star energy efficient and uses less than 0.03 watts of standby power.

The Blue Earth is made from recycled PCM plastic, extracted from water bottles, and (according to Samsung) is "free from harmful substances such as Brominated Flame Retardant, Beryllium and Phthalate." Kind of makes you wonder whether the rest of the phones we use typically have this evil-sounding stuff in them.

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