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According to Sprint Nextel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, a $49.99 "eco-conscious" phone will be launched by them. They added that the plastic casing of is made partly using corn.
Even though there are several "green" phones in markets, but they have generally been basic devices. These include phones like Motorola Inc's Renew, carried by T-Mobile USA and Nokia Corp.'s Evolve which is also a simple, low-end phone that lacks the backing of a US carrier.
Samsung Reclaim will be launched with more features sporting a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, e-mail and Web access, a camera and GPS navigation. The phone is scheduled to go on sale August 16.
The plastic of the casing is 40% corn-based. The phone's charger lights up once the phone is fully charged, to remind the owner to unplug it to save electricity.
David Owens, Sprint Nextel Corp.'s director of product marketing said the company has been paying more subsidies to Samsung to bring the price down to $49.99 for customers signing two-year contracts.
"We took a big step to put it under the $50 price because that's where we know there's a lot of volume," he said.
The price applies after a $50 mail-in rebate.
