What's a Green Mobile Device?

A recent survey of 1000 adult mobile phone users in North America by ABI Research revealed 7% of those surveyed would pay a premium for an environmentally friendly green handset. Another 40% said they would select a green handset if price, features and performance were equal. I've never heard the term "green handset" used and am in the majority according to ABI - only 4% of those surveyed said they were ‘very familiar’ with green handsets.

What's really "green" and not just "greenwashing" can be confusing. According to industry analyst Michael Morgan there are three key factors for a handset to be "truly green":

• Using recyclable or renewable materials;
• ensuring that handsets are in fact recycled after use; and
• the use of low-power chargers.

ABI Research projects the percentage of properly recycled handsets will grow from 8% in 2009 to 17% in 2014.

You can get more information on the ABI survey here.