Linc: The lifecycle concept phone 4 Mar 2008

LINC is the latest mobile phone concept to capture the imagination of the blogosphere. It's pretty much your average touch-screen smart phone with the usual set of bells and whistles (It's got a media player, a web browser, GPS, Bluetooth, wifi, 3G, blah, blah, blah etc.). Nothing new there then. However, what makes it stand out from the rest of the mobile crowd is that it is "designed for disassembly". As The Greener Grass explains:

"LINC is designed for automated disassembly. A directed radiant heat beam targets its internal memory metal latch, releasing the assembly. In one step, LINC automatically disassembles into its few simple components, glass, aluminum and its circuit flex. The glass and aluminum, not containing any paints or adhesives, are easily recycled to pure grade materials for immediate reuse. The remaining flexible circuit contains all the electronics necessary for the entire device. It's full of hazardous materials, but it has been safely recovered for proper disposal. Many of the chip sets can easily be pulled for reuse. Components like the graphics card are out dated for LINC, but can be used in devices like portable gaming systems. Linc changes the entire paradigm of the production and consumption model today. If implemented, a design such as this could greatly reduce hazardous waste and improve environmental health by reducing e-waste."