Where are the green phones at CES 2010?

The holiday season is over, yet consumer electronics enthusiasts are enjoying one final gift: the bounty of gizmos and gadgetry on display at CES 2010 in Las Vegas. Green-tech enthusiasts, however, might come away disappointed. Sure, the Sustainable Planet space at the show, where vendors flaunt their eco-friendly wares and services, has increased by 40 percent since last year’s International CES. But with notable exceptions, the level of green-tech innovation is sorely lacking, especially given the absence of new green phones and other mobile devices.

Greener mobile devices would be a welcome development, considering the rate at which people are tossing out old phones to adopt the newest models. At last year’s CES, Motorola unveiled a phone made from recycled water bottles. Later in August, Sprint unveiled the Samsung Reclaim; 40 percent of the phone’s shell is made from bio-plastics and about 80 percent of the entire phone can be recycled.Companies such as Samsung and Sharp also announced solar-powered phones last year — but they never seem to make it to the United States.

I would’ve very much liked to see CES 2010 be the venue for at least one of the leading manufacturers to announce a widely available green phone, one using alternative energy (solar, for example), low-power, full-featured, and made from recycled materials as well as renewable resources, such as bamboo.

Moving on to what green goods actually are on display at the show, there’s the LG E2350V LED, a new 23-inch LCD monitor. Ninety percent of the materials and parts used to make the E2350V monitor can be reused or recycled at the end of the product’s useful life, reducing the amount of materials sent to landfills. The monitor is sold in packaging that is 90 percent recyclable as well.

As such, the E2350V has earned the first UL (Underwriters Laboratories) Sustainable Product Certification gold mark. To garner the SPC mark, the monitor had to undergo independent, third-party certification to ensure it meets the IEEE 1680 environmental performance benchmark for consumer electronics, including Energy Star requirements. UL’s environmental certification criteria include the elimination or reduction of certain hazardous substances that pose threats to human health and the environment.

Impressive as that may sound, I’m not convinced LG has broken down any green barriers. The criteria for this new UL SPC appear essentially identical to those of EPEAT, which are contained in the IEEE 1680 standard. Thus, it seems LG has developed yet another monitor that meets EPEAT Gold criteria but doesn’t otherwise raise the green bar. In fact, 22 other monitors have higher EPEAT ratings. However, by having it certified by a third party, the company is able to claim a special distinction.

I certainly give credit to LG for recruiting a third party to verify the green qualities of its new monitor. One shortcoming to EPEAT is that registered products aren’t required to undergo any third-party verification; instead, registered products undergo spot checks to ensure vendors are being honest. But I’m looking forward to seeing a vendor come out with a monitor that, for example, earns a perfect EPEAT score or sets a new green standard for computer displays.

I don’t mean to suggest that the green offerings at CES are a collective bust, because there are some interesting offerings with potential applications in both the home and the office.

Among them, energy reseller Direct Energy, teaming up with big-name companies such as Whirlpool and Best Buy, is unveiling the Home Energy Management (HEM) center, a networked (as the name implies) home energy management system aimed at cutting electricity bills. The system, which Direct Energy will first test at about 40 homes in Houston, marks a key step in the smart-grid evolution: empowering users with data and tools to better manage how they use power.

An end-to-end solution that connects with appliances around the home or office, HEM leverages smart meter data to help users manage power consumption in the most efficient, inexpensive way possible. For example, users will be able to program the device to run the dishwasher or the washing machine during off-peak hours when energy is more abundant and rates are lower. They’ll also have access to real-time power-consumption data via an interactive touch-screen, as well as via their PC, TV, or smartphone.

Meanwhile, a startup out of Adelaide, Australia, called Embertec is a CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree for its EmberCeptor Power Saving Devices. Using specially designed digital processors, the devices automatically monitor and manage passive standby power (the electricity appliances draw when they’re turned off) and active standby power (drawn by devices left on but not being used) consumed by electronics, including computers.

Mobile warriors out there who rely on having their phones charged at all times might be interested in offerings from Sean Energy. The company claims it has “successfully tested a new battery which can power the iPhone in Video mode for almost 48 hours.”

Other green-oriented offerings at CES include chargers that rely on alternative energy to power devices. Easy Energy is offering the YoGen, which has a rip cord that can be yanked to generate juice. Solar Technology will show off its Freeloader Pico, a solar charger that comes with four different connector tips for charging different types of devices.

New intelligent power strips also will be on display. Bits Limited, for example, is unveiling the latest generation of its Smart Strip, which can sense when attached devices aren’t in use and switch them off accordingly.

All in all, though there are a couple of shining stars among the green offerings at this year’s CES 2010, I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, particularly by the lack of progress on the green-phone front. The year is still young, however. Perhaps vendors are holding out, and someone will roll out the perfect green cell phone come November, just in time for the holiday season.

This story, “Where are the green phones at CES 2010?,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in green IT at InfoWorld.com.