UK mobile network provider O2 just announced that they will not be releasing a charger with the new HTC smartphone. Why you ask? Well, their research has revealed that the UK “has more than 100m chargers lying in drawers, tangled in cupboards and generally gathering dust. The majority of phones are now upgrades and chargers that use USB cables, meaning the bit of plastic that plugs into the wall can actually be used by pretty much every phone.” By doing this, the company believes they can divert an amount of plastic waste from landfills equivalent to the weight of 1,000 London buses!

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Post tags: environmental impact, HTC smartphone, landfills, mobile phones, o2, phone charger, recycling, smartphones, universal charger, Waste

Could giving a cell phone to your kid be considered child abuse? Cell phones are widely believed to cause cancer because of the radiofrequency electromagnetic fields they use. Now, a new scientific study published in the journal Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine finds that kids’ brains may absorb much more cellphone radiation as adults’ brains. According to the report, cell phones are currently certified using a model of an adult’s head, which greatly underestimates the radiation absorption rate for a smaller head.

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Post tags: cancer, cell phones, Children, health risks, Inhabitots, kids, mobile phones, radiation

With consumer interest in greener gadgets on the rise, Apple has refused to include the iPhone in a far-reaching green ranking system for mobile phones in the UK. The rankings convert manufacturers’ answers to a 63-question survey into a ranking of 1-5 for each device, factoring in energy use and materials among other things.

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", apple, forum for the future, green materials, iPhone, mobile phones, o2, sustainability ratings, sustainable design

Imagine living in a poor rural area or urban slum with sporadic or no electricity: the reality is, you would still need a cell phone. Today, Samsung India launched the first solar-powered phone, the Solar Guru, which allows users to charge the phone anywhere the sun is shining — and in India, that’s most places. The Guru is the first solar mobile phone to hit the market, and, at $60, it’s designed to be affordable as well.

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Post tags: cell phones, India, mobile phones, samsung, samsung solar powered phone, social design, solar guru