Making a Trunk Call, the Nokia Way?

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Could Nokia be trying any harder? It’s the eco-friendliest electronics company in this year’s Greenpeace Guide to Green Electronics (as Liz reported recently) – and here could be another reason why.

Nokia likes to innovate – take the Eco Sensor Concept model, recycle-friendly and alternative-energy powered – or the Remade, crafted from cans, bottles and car tires.  But there are limits. Apart from the occasional curiosity, nobody in the industry has attempted to launch a wooden phone into the mainstream. Will Nokia?

Pictures of a wooden concept model have been cropping up all over the Internet during the last week, originating here at Cellphone Beat. Given the absence of a press release and any model specifications, Treehugger is understandably skeptical – but the idea’s terrific. Gimmick? It’s only a gimmick if nobody buys it, and considering the speed that new Nokia models generally fly off the shelves, healthy sales would be guaranteed. Mobile phone casings (as with other electronic equipment) are long overdue this kind of makeover, especially considering their recent elevation to the status of fashion accessory. Let’s hope it’s legit.

But even Nokia would have some way to go to out-eco Motorola – who helped develop a phone that bursts into flower!

Image: concept phones

Mike Sowden

Mike Sowden is a freelance writer based in the north of England, obsessed with travel, storytelling and terrifyingly strong coffee. He has written for online & offline publications including Mashable, Matador Network and the San Francisco Chronicle, and his work has been linked to by Lonely Planet, World Hum and Lifehacker. If all the world is a stage, he keeps tripping over scenery & getting tangled in the curtain - but he's just fine with that.