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Japanese Company Launches Solar-Powered Cell Phone
(16 Jul 2009, BWCS Staff)The largest mobile service provider in the land of the rising sun, DoCoMo, has announced plans to launch a solar-powered cellular handset. The operator has said it will market the phone, the Solar Hybrid or SH-08A, as part of its Style series. However, the phone does not rely solely on sun-power and can be charged in the traditional manner - should weather conditions demand it.
According to DoCoMo, ten minutes of solar charging will mean that the user has about one minute of talk-time. As an added bonus, the phone is also water-proof, presumably in case you intend to charge it while on the beach. It also features an 8-megapixel camera, multimedia functionality, a mobile wallet, international roaming and GPS and HSDPA support. The device will be available in Japan from September.
In April of this year DoCoMo's rival operator KDDI, announced it was working with handset vendor Sharp to make a solar powered mobile phone available. According to reports in the Japanese press, the new device, which is also water-proof, will rely completely on sunlight to ensure continual usage while the owner is out and about.
Sharp said that the solar technology will be embedded in the front of the handset and should be sufficient to charge up to 80% of the device's internal battery. The collaboration between the pair is apparently part of the "Green Road Project" and the phone will initially only be available in Japan.
Three years ago Vodafone launched a solar charger which it said enables users to recharge batteries anywhere "so long as the sun is out".
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