It was a coincidence that I had to shop for a new cell phone on Earth Day. But buying  the Samsung Reclaim from Sprint seemed like a good way of marking the occasion. Sprint says that the Reclaim is “both eco-friendly and…feature-rich.”

Reclaim’s hardware is made from bio-plastic materials extracted from corn, making 80 percent of the phone recyclable. Reclaim’s eco-friendly features extends to its packaging and support materials, which include a link to an online user manual in lieu of a print version, use of soy-based ink on enclosed printed materials, a phone box and phone tray made from recycled materials, and an Energy-Star approved phone charger.

In honor of its green-ness, the Reclaim is available in a “Earth Green,” but the color is too bright for my tastes. I opted for “Graphite Grey,” which, in light of the recent news, looks rather like volcanic ash. On the whole, it’s a nice-looking gadget.

The Reclaim is considerably lighter and thinner than my old Treo. Its screen is bright and clear, and it seems to be pretty sturdy. I’ve dropped it a couple of times with no adverse effects. The covers for the slots for the charger plug and the MicroSD card seem awfully flimsy, though, and I suspect they may break easily.

I prefer full keyboards with vertical layouts as on the Treo, Palm Pre, and many BlackBerry phones. Keyboards that slide out sideways don’t work too well for me, since I’m left-handed, and the navigation keys are invariably on the right side of the keyboard. The Reclaim’s keyboard is well laid out, but the keys themselves are flat, close together, and not easy to type on.

Incoming sound quality is very good; one person said I sounded a bit “electronic,” but otherwise, outgoing voice quality seems to be fine. Signal strength has been excellent, even in places with marginal reception.

The volume of the ringer, earpiece, and speakerphone can be set quite loud, which I appreciate. I haven’t had the phone long enough to really test its battery life, but Sprint claims 6 hours of talk time. I also haven’t tried some of its other features, including a 2-megapixel camera, voice recognition and stereo Bluetooth.

The software isn’t bad, as long as you know what you’re getting. The Reclaim comes with Sprint’s “One Click” interface and basic productivity apps, including a mail app, a web browser, a calendar and an address book. It also has apps for social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube. The screen fonts on the Facebook app are so tiny I can’t read wall posts, even with my glasses on — I guess Sprint figured that oldsters like me wouldn’t be using Facebook.

Sprint claims that this phone can download 60,000 free applications through the “Digital Lounge,” which is the Sprint-branded version of the GetJar app store. I did find some free apps, but most of the useful apps I looked at carried monthly fees of $3-10. And the quality of apps is variable. The free version of Google Maps is almost illegible on the Reclaim’s screen, and didn’t pick up where I was, even after enabling GPS.

So compared to the one-time purchase costs that are common on the iPhone/iPod touch and Android platforms, apps for the Reclaim can get expensive very quickly. Sprint even charges a monthly fee for their service to back up one’s contact list — and it’s not even full sync. For me, this is the biggest limitation of the Reclaim’s software: its inability to sync address book and calendar data. (There are some third-party solutions that claim to be able to do this, but I have no idea if they work.)

Sprint is continuing its green efforts and has just announced the Restore, another eco-friendly phone, which is scheduled for availability this summer. Meanwhile, Sprint is offering the Samsung Reclaim online at no charge after rebates and with a two-year contract, which is a good deal. But for web workers who are used to smartphones like the iPhone, Treo, Pre, BlackBerry or Android-based phones, the Reclaim has limited functionality. If all you need is a phone that can make calls, send texts and do some light web browsing, it might work for you.

If you find the Reclaim’s green tech credentials appealing, you should check out our Green:Net conference, which takes place on April 29 in San Francisco — there are still a few tickets left.

Do you think you could get by without your smartphone?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Cleantech Market Overview, Q1 2010

Bill On Site

Invoicing on the Go

To make preparing invoices on your phone as easy as possible, Bill On Site allows you to set up clients ahead of time, although you can access client information via your phone. You will need to provide an email address in order to make sure that your invoice makes it to the appropriate client. You can also set up your invoices so that your clients can pay you immediately if you happen to be meeting with them when you send the invoice, as well as accept payment by PayPal, check or money order. You can automatically add taxes, fees and discounts to specific clients as well, though they do need to be set up before you start using your phone.

Bill On Site offers a mobile interface that you can use on any phone that allows you to access the web. It is a relatively easy interface to use, and you can turn out invoices on the spot.

The service has three separate pricing plans, ranging from $15 a month to $45 a month. The basic account is limited to sending out 25 invoices a month and is for solo users only. The other plans offer more invoices each month, as well as staff accounts so that multiple members of an organization can access the invoicing system. Each of the three plans includes a 30-day free trial.

Using Bill On Site

The ability to send an invoice from your phone is very useful — if you’ve had to go on-site to see a client or you’re otherwise away from your computer, it’s a practical feature.

However, many invoicing tools can be used on a smartphone. Some have created applications (like Freshbooks’ Minibooks iPhone app, for example) or mobile interfaces, but with a little perseverance, even those that have not can still be used.

One thing I’d love to see from Bill On Site that would make it really stand out from other invoicing apps is a way to send invoices from mobile phones that aren’t smartphones (maybe via an SMS or voice interface).

In general, Bill On Site stacks up well against other invoicing tools. It does encrypt all invoice and client information and transmits it over SSL. Data is backed up in three different locations, according to the company’s web site. The system also records all changes to each invoice, so that you can review how an invoice has been updated and changed at any time. The question worth considering is how different the mobile interface is for Bill On Site when compared with other invoicing tools, but if invoicing from your phone is a concern, it’s worth giving Bill On Site’s free trial a go.

What do you think of Bill On Site’s mobile interface?

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