Sony Ericsson Elm 2Sony Ericsson is taking the lead in the effort to drive the industry towards greener solutions. The GreenHeart phone series sports some of the most impressive standards for manufacturing a mobile phone in the most eco-friendly way possible. While a vast majority of devices have yet to be produced with these same standards, the slowly growing GreenHeart series is a testament that shows that it can be done.

New to the series are the Elm and Hazel 3G smart phones. These two unassuming and sleek-looking Sony gadgets may seem like your typical modern mobile phone, but checking the manufacturing specs shows how much green –innovation has been put into the devices.

First off, the phones are made of at least 50% recycled plastics. The actual percentage is actually higher but it seems that there is no accurate way to pinpoint the precise amount. This goes a long way in lowering the need for new plastics as the amount of raw material to be processed for just one phone has been reduced to half. Another interesting feature is that the paint and finish of the phones make use of water-borne solutions without chemicals; in fact, GreenHeart phones are made no harmful chemicals at all.

Sony Ericsson Hazel 1Anyway, both phones pack 3G HSDPA capabilities and 5 mega pixel cameras to boot. The snappers are loaded with auto focus and LED flash while the screens both have a resolution of 320 x 240 (the Elm has a 2.2 inch screen while the Hazel has a 2.6 inch display).

Of the two devices, the Hazel looks more stylish with its sleek slider-phone form while the Elm is more of a traditional looking candy bar device.

The only thing missing now is an early pre-Christmas launch date. Still, those of us who would like to get these phone do not have long to wait for, Sony has confirmed that both devices will launch next year with the Elm on Q1 2010 and the Hazel on Q2 with the rest of the new year’s Sony Ericsson deals.