X

A sleeper show for Samsung Mobile

Samsung Mobile skips new phone announcements at CES to make a pledge about phone recycling.

Kent German Former senior managing editor / features
Kent was a senior managing editor at CNET News. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he reviewed the first iPhone and worked in both the London and San Francisco offices. When not working, he's planning his next vacation, walking his dog or watching planes land at the airport (yes, really).
Kent German

Samsung gets greener. Kent German/CNET

LAS VEGAS--CES press conferences aren't always exciting, and Samsung' Mobile's event early Friday morning proved to be particularly underwhelming. Though the company normally buries us in phone announcements at technology trade shows, this year Sammy announced no new handsets in Las Vegas.

We started with a brief recap of the last year. Samsung managed to earn the biggest market share in the U.S. market, which is not surprising to us considering the range of its handsets that passed through our hands. Company execs also recapped current design and feature trends, like the TouchWiz interface, AMOLED displays, and a commitment to QWERTY keyboards.

The real news, however, centered around the company's green efforts. By the end of 2010, Samsung promises it will recycle one million cell phones. To help reach that goal, the company is accepting phones from all manufacturers and offering free shipping for old devices. What happens to those old handsets remains to be seen. Perhaps they'll wind up as a Samsung Reclaim.