Samsung to launch solar phone
Samsung's new Blue Earth handset includes dual solar panels on the rear to give it eco-friendly juice on the go.
Shown over on CNet, the new handset is designed with integrated solar panels to keep it ticking over on the go without costing the earth – although it requires that the rear of the unit it facing the sun for extended periods, of course. The casing continues the ecological theme, being made of recycled water bottles and free from nasties such as brominated flame retardants and beryllium.
The device itself is a full touch-screen smartphone, with a user interface – above an as-yet unconfirmed operating system – which aims to highlight the impact one has on our environment. To this end, Samsung has included a pedometer as part of the unit – and software which will calculate the saving in your carbon footprint compared to the same journey in a car.
The handset is due to début at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, at which time we should learn a few more details – including the overall specifications, memory, and which frequencies it supports – alongside pricing information. It will also be interesting to see how tough the touch screen is – if the device is due to spend a lot of its time face-down so its solar panels can get their dose of light, the front is going to need some serious scratch protection to remain intact.
Is this the sort of eco-friendly advance that you'd like to see more of in your portable devices, or are solar panels redundant on the back of a device that spends most of its time in your pocket? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Discuss in the forums ReplyAlso arent most phone's supposed to not be exposed to direct sunlight? What about this one?
Looking forward to some reviews of these kind of phones.
Good on Samsung for trying something;
a) Different
b) Innovative
c) For a good cause
Lol guys havent you ever been somewhere and forgot your charger or out in the middle of no where and you car breaks down, or out a job site, or a long night on the town, come on I can name hundreds of times that I wish my phone could have this to recharge so it wouldnt be dead, this is the perfect solution. :)
no not to keep it powered but for recharge purposes, it would also help to extend some battery life as some load could be sent to the solar panels.
well if Im understanding what your referring to, I think the phone looks great.
Stop looking at the solar panels as the sole way to power the device, and look at it as an auxiliary means to keep that charge going.
It really has great looks, but seems a bit too large though.
I agree, I mean come on, no one here who is complaining never found them selves with out a charger for their phone? and their phone about to die, this is where they would stop complaining and wish they had this option as a way to charge their phone.
Oh shut up already.
...well SOME form of flame retardant is obigatory for the CE mark...right?
There are MANY solar chargers out there as accesoires, so why not an integrated one? I like the idea.
Beein fit to a smartphone though...the "high-end" market isn't really the one leeding an away-from-a-powersource type of life.
Something like they have in perpetual motion watches would be a much better idea.
Dumb quote of the day.... lol the sun doesnt give enough energy lol that made me laugh, I think what you meant to say is that current solar cell technology does not absorb enough of the suns spectrum to take full advantage of the immense amount of power that is released but they are getting closer and closer, so the tech is in our near future. :)
Not what I meant, just saying even with 100% efficient panels theres not a great deal of energy available for a solar panel with the footprint of a phone. Assuming 200 watts per metre squared in full sunlight (Seems common figure in western europe), and ~50cm squared back of phone (generous, and thats assuming complete coverage of back), thats about a watt. Smartphones tend to draw ~3W while charging, but no matter, that seems like a slow charge at least. Factor in angle of the sun in the sky, cloud cover, minimum power to boot modern phones, a perfect solar panel will at best give a minute or two of emergency calls. This is at best an emergency backup, leaving a phone in the right angle for hours just isn't practical. If you must have an emergency backup, get a low power second phone, or a wind up charger that works at night. I cannot see a practical use for solar panels in consumer phones, this looks like one in a long line of impractical planet saving devices. (Completely for renewable sources of power, but this is silly)