Mobile Handset Makers Struggle With Green Initiatives

NEW YORK, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Makers of mobile handsets are stepping up their efforts to develop and sell products that are more environmentally friendly, but consumer usage patterns continue to have a negative impact on handset makers' green initiatives, according to the latest report from Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider (www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks).

Mobile Handsets: It's Not Easy Being Green details and analyzes the current state of "green mobility" and the efforts that have been made to date by manufacturers, industry trade groups, and regulators to make mobile communications more environmentally friendly. It profiles seven handset makers that have undertaken the eco-friendly charge and examines the extent of their environmental policies, including an analysis of their green handset products.

For a list of companies analyzed in this report, please see:

http://img.lightreading.com/uni/pdf/mni0510_companies.pdf

"While the green mobile handset segment remains a small percentage of the mobile phone marketplace, some handset OEMs have become more aggressive in adding green mobile handsets to their portfolios," notes Aileen Arcilla, research analyst with Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider and author of the report. "Characteristics of green handsets include use of recycled materials, reduced use of toxic materials such as lead and polyvinyl chlorides, and availability of more energy efficient battery chargers, as well as chargers driven by alternative energy sources such as solar cells."

But user habits are the biggest obstacle to making mobile handsets a more eco-friendly sector, Arcilla reports. "Discarding of still-usable handsets and failure to properly dispose of or recycle handsets are potentially significant contributors to environmental problems," she says. "With the number of mobile subscriptions expected to exceed 5 billion over the next few years, the biohazards of handset disposal are likely to grow."

Key findings of Mobile Handsets: It's Not Easy Being Green include:

• Efforts to make mobile communications more eco-friendly have emerged, primarily touting a handset lifecycle approach.
• The green mobile handset segment is growing, but it will be difficult to track as a separate segment of the worldwide handset market.
• Adoption of eco-friendly handsets will vary regionally, alongside differing handset feature priorities, consumer attitudes, business models, and governmental policies.
• Initiatives at the OEM level have primarily encouraged the development of green mobile handsets and will drive consumer adoption.
• Consumers must play a huge role in ensuring that the environmental impact of mobile phone consumption is minimized.

Mobile Handsets: It's Not Easy Being Green is available as part of an annual single-user subscription (six issues) to Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider, priced at $1,595. Individual reports are available for $900 (single-user license).

To subscribe, or for more information, please visit: www.heavyreading.com/mobile-networks. For more information on all of Heavy Reading's Insider services, please visit www.heavyreading.com/research.

To request a free executive summary of the report, or for details on multi-user licensing options, please contact:

About Light Reading

Founded in 2000, Light Reading (www.lightreading.com) is the leading online media, research, and focused event company serving the $3 trillion worldwide communications market. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for technological and financial analysis of the communications industry, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content, and reputation. Light Reading's research arms, Heavy Reading and Pyramid Research, provide the most comprehensive communications research, market data, and technology analysis in close to 100 markets around the world. Light Reading produces nearly 20 targeted communications events including TelcoTV, and TelcoTV Asia, Ethernet Expo New York and Ethernet Europe, and The Tower Summit @ CTIA, as well as focused one-day events tailored for cable, mobile, and wireline executives in the US, Europe, India, and China. Light Reading was acquired by United Business Media in August 2005 and operates as a unit of TechWeb.

About UBM TechWeb

UBM TechWeb, the global leader in technology media and professional information, enables people and organizations to harness the transformative power of technology. Through its core businesses – media solutions, marketing services and professional information – UBM TechWeb produces the most respected and consumed brands, applications and services in the technology market. More than 14.5 million business and technology professionals (CIOs, IT and IT Support managers, Web & Digital professionals, Software and Game developers, Government decision makers, and Telecom providers) actively participate in UBM TechWeb's communities. UBM TechWeb brands includes: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading and Gamasutra; research, training and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology. UBM TechWeb is part of UBM, a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

About United Business Media Limited

UBM (UBM.L) focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetization of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities – from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewelry traders, from farmers to pharmacists – with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organized into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently. For more information, go to http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com.

SOURCE Heavy Reading Mobile Networks Insider

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