The sleek-looking, touch-controlled “Blue Earth,” the centerpiece of Samsung’s drive to be more environmentally friendly, has solar panels on its back which the company claims are able to charge the battery in 10-14 hours.

This would offer approximately four hours of talk time, a company representative said at industry event Mobile World Congress where the phone is on display for the first time.

The device, expected to be launched in Europe in the second half of 2009, can also be charged normally via a plug, with the solar panels used to top up the battery to extend its power.

Fellow South Korean manufacturer LG Electronics also has put a prototype solar-powered phone on display here but the company has no launch date or name for the device.

Industry watchers say the market for a solar-powered phone would include outdoor types in developed countries such as fishermen or campers who head into the wilderness without access to electricity.

If the price was low enough, Samsung has not revealed details yet, such a phone could also help link up the millions of poor worldwide who live either without or with very limited access to electricity.

The transparent keypad of the LG GD900 simply cannot go unnoticed, nor can the slim waistline of the WinMo-powered LG GM370 and the 8 megapixel camera of the LG GC900.

LG GD900 is definitely the most interesting handset of the bunch, offering an unprecedented see-through keypad. The manufacturer is refusing to reveal many of its specifications which suggests that it is yet in very early stages of its development. The fact that it wasn’t present on the LG booth also kinda confirms that.

Yet another disappointment for us was the lack of any information whatsoever about the 8 megapixel LG GC900. A photo of the handset leaked this morning but LG still haven’t got round to officially announcing it.

LG GM730 is a Windows Mobile-powered handset, which also sports a touch of the S-class UI. The fully touch-operated handset comes with a 3″ WQVGA screen, A-GPS, Wi-Fi and a 5 megapixel camera. USB and Bluetooth connectivity is also on board and the device still manages to remain pretty slim at 11.9mm.

The slider LG KT770 runs on Symbian S60 3rd edition UI and comes with FP2 preinstalled. It offers a 5 megapixel camera, a 2.8″ WQVGA screen, 3G with HSDPA connectivity. The internal memory will be 1 or 2 GB and is expandable through the microSD card slot.

LG also showcased their eco-friendly phone, that has a solar panel at the back for charging its battery.

Of course the main star of the event is the LG KM900 Arena. There were hardly any specifications that needed clearing out here but the handset still managed to surprise us. The UI was so smoothly and fluidly running that we almost couldn’t believe our eyes. We will give you more details about it in our live LG overview that is just around the corner.

Finally LG announced a bunch of low- and lower-mid-end phones, designed to suit the needs of the emerging markets and the users on a tight budget.

The 2009 Mobile World Congress is expected to attract approximately 50,000 attendees, so don’t miss this unrivalled opportunity to conduct business, discuss the hottest trends in mobile communications, and help define the industry’s path to continued growth.

The Ivalo will feature:

• a 3.5 inch TFT touchscreen (widescreen. Nokia loves that it seems)
• 32GB of ROM
• GPS, A-GPS
• FM radio with a transmitter as well
• 5 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi, EDGE/GPRS
• TV out
• Bluetooth and of course USB 2.0

Madeleine, which reports are saying could be a mid-range handset will come equipped with :

• QWERTY keyboard
• 3.2 megapixel camera
• Wi-Fi, EDGE/GPRS
• N-Gage support for gaming
• GPS
• FM radio

There’s absolutely nothing official about these handsets but with GSMA and MWC 09 just around the corner one has to hope that we’ll see them, even if they are prototypes, on display.

Other reports a little earlier also stated that the Finnish mobile magnates were also planning of launching a mobile application store as well as a device that the reports are calling E75. Could it be one of these? We’ll just have to wait and see.

One of the sources also said Nokia would unveil a new E75 cellphone model at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona. The phone, already on sale on the Web site of online retailer Expansys, will be available next month in Britain.

The smartphone, with a sideways slide-out full keyboard, will sell for 390 pounds ($563.6), while with an operator contract it will be free in Britain.

Nokia promised in early December to launch ’soon’ its own download store, as the Finnish firm merges its current software Download! store with free media sharing site Mosh and widget service WidSets. “This will provide consumers an easy way to get mobile media for their device,” Nokia said in December.