News and New Products

Fujitsu Prototypes First Bio Mobile Phone

By Richard Wilson -- Electronics Weekly, 5/16/2006

Fujitsu claims to have developed bio-based polymer that is potentially strong enough to be used for environmentally friendly mobile phones.  

It is one of a number of mobile phone programs designed to find ways of reducing the environmental impact handsets make once they are scrapped. So-called bio-based polymers produce lower carbon dioxide emission levels than traditional plastic made from petroleum. 

According to Fujitsu, the key to this development is the impact resistance of the polymer which is 50 percent higher than with previous bio materials. This makes it a more practical alternative for mobile phone cases.

This means bio-based polymer handsets could be on the market as early as next year.

The company has produced a prototype mobile phone chassis using the new bio-based polymer, which will be exhibited in Tokyo this week. It also plans to use the new plastic in future mobile phone models to reduce the use of petroleum-based plastics.

Fujitsu first used bio-based polymers as long ago as 1996 in conveyer trays in its factories and since then has applied it in products such as PCs, POS terminals and ATMs.

Electronics Weekly is the London-based sister publication of Electronic News.