Beijing, March 2 (IANS): Two Chinese firms have beaten global competition to launch phones with touch screens, batteries and thermal conduction incorporating graphene, a recently isolated material with outstanding electrical, chemical and mechanical properties.

A batch of 30,000 such phones was jointly put on sale by the Moxi and Galapad technology firms on Monday in southwest China's Chongqing municipality, Xinhua news agency reported.

The use of graphene can make touch screens more sensitive and prolong battery life by 50 percent, according to the producers.

The key technology for the new phones, which use the Android system and will sell for 2,499 yuan ($406) each, was developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms in a honeycomb lattice. It was first isolated in 2004. Scientists worldwide have been rushing to test it.

China leads the world in the mass production of graphene films for phone and computer touch screens. In 2013, a production line capable of producing tens of millions of graphene films every year went into operation in Chongqing.