Nokia is showing the industry how green cell phones are done.

The crew at Engadget got a pleasant surprise when it handled Nokia’s C6-01, its new budget smartphone (apart from a high-quality energy-sipping AMOLED display) unveiled today at the Nokia World event in London. What appeared to be a plastic rear casing to the eye turned out to be recycled metal.

For a starter smartphone, it’s a nice departure from plastic and certainly lends a premium touch. To date, most green phones have underwhelmed with derivative designs and recycled plastic shells (Samsung Reclaim, Sony GreenHeart). Nokia’s C6-01 looks (and hopefully performs) the part of a mainstream product that also happens to have some solid green credentials.

Kudos, Nokia!