Behind Your Business

Sprint Nextel is pushing the green envelope this summer with the introduction of the Samsung Reclaim, an eco-friendly phone with plenty of high-tech bells and whistles. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Samsung Reclaim is a messaging phone aimed at environmentally conscious customers who don't want to sacrifice multimedia features and modern form factors.

In fact, when it debuts on Aug. 16, Reclaim will be the most full-featured QWERTY phone launched by Sprint at less than $50. Reclaim will retail for $49.99 with a two-year service agreement. Two dollars of the proceeds will benefit The Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program.

"Samsung Reclaim enables customers to go green while getting the latest in wireless technology," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. "When customers walk into a Sprint retail store, they will be greeted by the information they need to make earth-friendly wireless choices, coupled with Ready Now to learn about the rich functionality of this device."

The Eco-Friendly Specs

Samsung Reclaim is designed with environmentally responsible components and fully recyclable packaging. For starters, its bio-plastic material, made from corn, makes up 40 percent of the Reclaim's outer casing.

The Reclaim is also free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR), the three materials commonly targeted by green-electronics guidelines. The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced with a virtual manual.

The box packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled materials. The images and text on the box, as well as the phone warranty information, are printed with soy-based ink.

The charger is Energy Star approved to meet the highest energy-efficiency standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. Sprint said it consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption...