Sony Ericsson Elm and Hazel eco-phones
Back in June Sony Ericsson announced two new handsets, the Naite and the C901, that were to be part of their new ‘GreenHeart’ series. These phones were aimed at the environment-conscious phone users with many features designed to make the phones more ‘green’. While some of these features were commendable, such as using less disposable packaging and toxic materials, some of it just seemed a bit gimmicky and almost as though Sony Ericsson was cynically trying to cash in on the current hullaballoo about carbon footprints and melting icecaps.
A few months on and Sony Ericsson has now released some new phones into the range – the Elm and the Hazel. The names of these two phones certainly sound a lot greener than ‘Naite’ and ‘C901′, but are their specifications any greener?
The specifications of the two phones are virtually identical with the main difference between the two handsets being in the physical design and appearance. Both the Hazel and the Elm are produced from non-toxic materials and largely using recycled plastic, as well as coming in reduced packaging. Both phones will use ‘e-manuals’ that are contained on the phone, and not in paper booklet form in the box. While this is great in reducing paper usage, it may not be such a good idea if you need to refer to the phones booklet for help if your phone is not turning on. The two new phones both feature the rather silly and not-really-that-green ‘Walk Mate’ application. This is an app that calculates how much CO2 you are not emitting by choosing to walk rather than drive, and it does this by calculating the distance you have walked. In other words, it’s a fancy pedometer.
But like with the release of the Naite and C901, the question still remains that if Sony Ericsson is truly committed to saving the environment why are they not implementing these features on all of their phones? The small benefits gained by reducing wasteful 
packaging with these two phones will be eclipsed by the fact that they make up a very small share of an otherwise highly wasteful industry.
To be fair to Sony Ericsson, they have stated that they are aiming to make all of their phone accessories compliant with their GreenHeart policies by 2011, and to reduce their total CO2 emissions by 20% by 2015. If you leave the cynicism aside, these are actually two quite nice phones with some great features that benefit from playing some part in helping the environment and also have a nice ergonomic design to them. Both handsets will be released in early 2010, with the release of the Hazel following the Elm. So, stay tuned for some great Sony Ericsson Hazel and Sony Ericsson Elm deals closer to that time.
