Samsung Releases The First Solar Powered Cell Phone in India

The first solar powered cell phone was released recently by Samsung in India. One hour of solar charging provides roughly 5 – 10 minuets of talk time and to fully charge the phone you’ll have to leave the phone in the sun for 40 min. This isn’t the most impressive stats as you can imagine however, this phone provides poor rule towns and people that are not connected to the grid a great way to stay in touch. These phones are going to be a great asset for emerging markets and small businesses that are trying to get off the ground with meager beginings. The phone runs for $60 which is quite affordable and is a great step to integrating renewable energy into mobile devices.

For those of you interested in charging your phone through solar power and are willing to pay a little more there are some great products that provide less charging time and are quite stylish as well.

Power Monkey

The power monkey will put you back about $100 but can hold up to 96 hours of charge and is the size of a regular mans wallet. I have one of these and they’re easily transportable and can charge a variety of your geeky gadgets.

iPhone Solar Glove

The SG-5700 iPhone Solar Glove has a Lithium-ion polymer rechargeable battery that can store up to 1100 mAh of power. It comes standard with a USB cord to charge the internal battery through any USB port. The SG-5700 draws UV rays as opposed to light itself, therefore it thrives throughout even the worst of conditions.

Sunlinq USB Mini 400mA 5 Volt Solar Charger

Folding solar panel definitely provide the biggest bang for the buck however, they’re a little bit more clunky than the other solar chargers. The SUNLINQ USB Mini is designed to charge cell phones, PDA’s, MP3/MP4 players, GPS, digital cameras, batteries and basically any device that is able to connect and charge via USB (Universal Serial Bus). The SUNLINQ USB Mini weighs 4 ounces and when folded is compact, lightweight, easily stored and transported.