14 DAY TRIAL // The Japanese mobile phone market is one of the oddest, but also the most advanced technologically in the world. Unfortunately, it's not one of the most eco-friendly, as it turns out Sharp decided to give its Touch Wood concept a go.
The new device is made of cypress timber, which means that every handset will have a different pattern design. No artificial colors or paints are used, so the unique aroma of the wood is preserved.
The device features a “pebble” form factor and will be available on the market in February or March 2010 through the NTT DoCoMo carrier.
Only 15,000 units of the curvy cell phone will be manufactured to limit the impact over the wood stocks.
The feature-phone comes with a 3.4-inch touch screen display with 854 x 480 pixels resolution, microSD card slot for memory expansion, i-mode, FOMA high-speed data connectivity and GPS with A-GPS support.
Sharp Touch Wood weighs about 130g (battery included) and sports a 5.3-megapixel camera with LED flash.
Initially showcased at Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (CEATEC) 2009 event, held in Japan at the beginning of October, Sharp's Touch Wood was built in cooperation with Olympus and the reforestation project “More Trees.”
According to the manufacturer, the reforestation project recommending the use of wood in consumer electronics, as odd as it may seem, is in fact well intended, as the wood is generated by forest thinning operations from over-grown forests.
The manufacturer also stated that the phones are made from water resistant waste wood and won’t suffer from insect damage. That's probably because the sales package includes an Anti-Termite Agent Spray, which should be used twice a week.
As a side note, Sharp's Touch Wood was shown along with another concept feature-phone at the CEATEC 2009, codenamed Touch Wood SH-04A.
The wood-trimmed mobile phone will be launched in Japan in Q1 2011 through NTT DoCoMo and will not see international availability.