SINGAPORE : Mobile-phone handsets are now moving into a more environmentally-friendly era with models that use fewer harmful materials but still make money for their manufacturers.

Samsung made a splash with its eco-friendly materials concept at Asia's largest information and communications technology exhibition, CommunicAsia 2009, last week in Singapore.

The company plans to commercially launch its Blue Earth handset by the end of this year. The phone uses plastic made from recycled water bottles and has a solar panel to charge the battery, with additional power-saving features built in. All phone materials are eco-friendly with no adhesives.

Chanvit Khieonavavongsa, category marketing leader for mobile phones of Samsung Electronics Thailand, said the flagship products of Samsung at the expo were its touch-screen smartphones.

The trend in the global market is clearly toward touch-screen handsets. The fast-growing segment enjoyed a surge in unit sales in the first half, defying a record contraction in global handset sales.

"We are constantly learning the trend and catching up with the demand," Mr Chanvit said.

Samsung introduced a series of touch-screen and smartphone models at the expo. The Omnia II smartphone series and Preston 3G phones are equipped with Windows Mobile 6.5, providing the ability to browse and download applications. The touch-screen Jet model features an 800-Megahertz processor and a next-generation display.

It also showcased what it called the world's slimmest phone, the Samsung Galaxy, to be launched in August. The rich-content phone runs on Google's Android software with Samsung's open-standard application system.