Phone makers like Samsung and Nokia have launched green-branded phones to much fanfare, but so far, no huge sales reports. Now Sony Ericsson is trying their hand at that piece of the market. Today they announced the addition of the GreenHeart phones to their list of models.

The new models are actually revamped versions of the C901 and Naite models. The new features include a 15 percent smaller carbon footprint, an online-only manual to save paper, less packaging and the phones are made of at least 50 percent recycled plastics. Sony Ericsson is essentially using the the new models to introduce these green features before applying them to their entire portfolio.

While these updates are better for the environment and should be commended, the GreenHeart line doesn’t offer any improvements in efficiency or use of renewable energy like other green phones, which makes this attempt feel luke warm in comparison.

In order for cell phones to truly become green, companies will have to focus on improving all aspects of the phone, including making them more efficient and increasing battery and operating life so that cell phones become more of a long-term purchase and less of a disposable object.

via Earth2Tech