The Samsung Illusion has now been made official at Verizon. The handset uses a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird processor, a three-megapixel camera, and a 3.5-inch display. It runs on Android 2.3 and carries Swype to help typing.
The phone’s distinguishing trait is its eco-friendliness. Both the rear case and battery cover are made with 70 percent post-consumer material and 35 percent of the front casing is made from recycled material. Even the box uses 60 percent recycled paper that is bleach free and printed with vegetable ink, Verizon said. Its highly-efficient charger has a full-charge alarm. The handset received the Platinum rating from the Underwriters Laboratories by scoring 84 out of 119 points.
A Mobile Hotspot feature lets users share the phone’s 3G data connection with as many as five Wi-Fi devices. It has Bluetooth 3.0 built-in along with a microSD memory card slot and an included 2GB microSD card.
The Illusion arrives online on November 23 for $80 with a new two-year contract, but as part of an online promotion between November 24 and 28, will be free with the same commitment. It arrives in retail stores in January.
