Samsung Blue Earth

Delivered in a recycled card box (that you’ll be able to reuse as a pot for pencils!), the Blue Earth's shell is also made from recycled plastic and there are no noxious substances (phthalate) in the charger. This is the first "green" multifunction touch phone from Samsung. The solar panels on the back recharge the battery without you having to plug it in. Will this be enough to attract users already overwhelmed with offers?


Green marketing hits the phone market

Presented at the 3GSM in Barcelona, this "green" model (like its comptetitor from LG, the GD510 Pop) received quite a bit of attention in the press. Hardly a surprise seeing as it was the first green consumer phone.




The idea of a green phone may make some of you laugh, and with reason: the mobile phone market is hardly a model of environmentalism! With such a high renewal rate (around every 18 months) and product launches by the spadeful, the concept may seem strange (the components are what they are), but surely any attempt to reduce your carbon footprint should be praised… shouldn’t it?


Handling

As usual, you either like the look, or you don’t. There'll be those who love the blue front and those that hate it. Note however that the phone handles well. On the downside, it could have been a slimmer. On the whole the finish is fine, with the exception of the fine "guttering" between the screen and the shell - dust is sure to accumulate!


The back of the phone is covered with solar panels for recharging the battery in natural (and not artificial) light. You need to tilt the phone correctly towards the sun or leave it somewhere very bright. An hour of natural light is needed for 10 minutes of 3G conversation, so this recharge mode is no more than an extra option and won’t replace standard recharging. Nevertheless, and while usefulness will depend on where it’s used and what time of year it is, the panels are a little bonus.

The 3-inch AMOLED screen (240 x 400 pixels) is of good quality with good brightness and contrast. Moreover, the touch technology is sensitive and effective.

Usability

As with many of its other phones, Samsung has allied the TouchWiz interface with the house OS on the Blue Earth. It offers three customisable desktops that use widgets placed along the left hand side of the screen. The menus (on which you can move features around depending on usage) are intuitive but overall they could do with a little facelift to get on a par with the competition.

Navigation, too, is simple and effective (though some features would benefit from more direct access) but a bit illogical at times. To move back a step, for example, you need to press the central physical button, which is also used to call up the five main applications. All in all, the phone is responsive, in spite of the occasional slowdown here and there when you start up some apps or after having moved widgets to the central part of the screen.


Besides the basic functions and the 30 or so available widgets, don’t expect access to an applications store. There isn’t one. For a good number of users who’re looking for a phone that’s ready to use, the Blue Earth will be fine, but if you want to fill your phone with apps, go for something else.


The Blue Earth has several features and practical or playful options such as the unlock icon that consists in throwing a can into a bin, or moving the phone to silent by turning it screen downwards on the table. The pedometre also allows you to work out how much CO2 you’ve economised and the number of trees you’ve saved by walking instead of taking your vehicle.

If you select eco mode, you’ll save on battery with a shorter standby cut off (8 seconds) and reduced brightness. Once the phone is fully recharged there’s an audio signal so you can unplug the charger and save on energy.

Multimedia

The Blue Earth is a multimedia phone, so you can listen to music, take photos and record and play video.

It also has a web browser for access to your favourite sites. While it can serve as a fallback solution, we’re a long (long) way off the best mobile browser solutions to be found on the N900 (more like a mini-PC than a multimedia phone), the iPhone 3G S or the HTC Hero. These phones are however in a different class to the Blue Earth. How long pages take to load depends on the site and scrolling lacks fluidity.