CES-Motorola unveils phone made from recycled bottles
By Sinead Carew
LAS VEGAS, Jan 6 (Reuters) Motorola Inc (MOT.N) unveiled a cell phone made of recycled water bottles on Tuesday, hoping to cash in on the trend for environmentally friendly products.
The company, which dropped to No. 4 in the global handset market in the most recently reported quarter due to a weak product line-up, said the W233 Renew eco-friendly phone would be sold by Deutsche Telekom's (DTEGn.DE) T-Mobile USA in the current quarter.
It did not disclose pricing for the phone, which will be showcased at this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Motorola said it was the world's first carbon neutral phone. As well as using recycled materials for the plastic casing, the company also pledged to offset the carbon dioxide used in manufacturing, distribution and operation of the phone through investments in renewable energy sources and reforestation.
Motorola, which has lost market share by being slow to follow trends such as touchscreens and high-speed data links,also plans to showcase three different items at CES: a relatively large touchscreen tablet phone, a rugged phone, and a rechargeable cable TV remote control with a find feature.
The Motosurf A3100 touch-control tablet supports short-range, Wi-Fi networks and high-speed cellular connections and can be operated using a stylus, a trackball or touching the screen with fingers.
The device allows for video conferencing and updating of social network sites, and is to be available in Asia and Latin America during the first quarter, Motorola said. It did not say which carriers had agreed to sell the tablet.
Motorola said its rugged Tundra VA76r phone, which includes a walkie-talkie style feature, would go on sale on Jan. 13 at AT&T Inc (T.N), the biggest U.S. mobile provider.
The company's home electronics division will also introduce a rechargeable television set-top-box remote control. The remote is wirelessly linked to a base station, on which a user can press a switch to trigger an audio-tone and a flashing light that would help locate the device if it goes missing. (Reporting by Sinead Carew)
