New Solar-Powered Phone Unveiled

Called the 'Light-Energy Mobile Phone', it is a relatively slender clamshell with an 84 x 47.6 x 0.8mm solar panel built into the flip side. This provides the handset with a remarkable 25 minutes of talk time from just 40 minutes of charging in sunlight, it can be charged with indoor light when no direct sunshine is available and even candlelight. Best of all, Hi-Tech Wealth told me that if left on standby, the handset is theoretically self sufficient.

As for the practicalities of putting such a handset on the market Hi-Tech said the panel is encased in toughened glass and would stand up to all the rigours of a regular mobile. It also claimed the panel has a low manufacturing cost.

Cool. Reminds me of solar powered calculators. How great would it be if you never had to plug in your cellphone to recharge ever again?

Can't wait to find out more specs on how much it would cost, how durable the panels would be, and how much electricity they would generate.

via TrustedReviews via TreeHugger