Japan-based telecommunication service provider NTT DoCoMo announced on Dec. 12 its plan to launch a handset made of plants within this year.

According to local reports, this new handset named "FOMA N701iECO" is made from a kind of plant-turned plastic except for its LCD and buttons. The plastic is mainly PLA extracted from corns and strengthened by ambary fiber.

The handset is comparable to traditional ones in terms of fire resistance and toughness, but of half carbon dioxide emission during its plastic production than that of chemical resin used in making traditional handsets.

Price of the handset is estimated to be more than 10,000 Japanese yen (one US dollar is about 120 yen). Before Dec. 2006, 1 percent service fees by its users will be used in environment protecting activities such as tree planting.

By People's Daily Online