Samsung India has launched the world's first solar powered mobile phone, the "Solar Guru" (Guru E1107) in the Indian market.
The handset enables its users dual charging; it allows users to charge the battery anywhere the sun is shining, so that users are not inconvenienced when the phone battery is running out of charge. However, the main source of charging would be electricity.
Do keep in mind that the solar power charging would not be the main source of charging as the phone has the capacity to provide around 5~10 minutes of talk time
with one hour of solar charging (*Measured when the phone is turned-off
under the sun light of 80,000 Lux. Results can be different depending
on circumstances).
The phone will be beneficial for far flung areas where electricity is unstable, says the company. Moreover, the solar panel charging will allow its users to save some money and energy consumption on traditional electrical charging.
Samsung has another, more powerful solar-powered phone in the pipeline that goes by the name of Blue Earth. Apart from the conventional charging method, a full solar charge of around 10 to 14 hours for this phone is said to provide enough power for around four hours of talk time.
Features:
The Samsung Solar Guru comes in a compact design with basic mobile phone features such as FM radio, MP3 ring tones, embedded games and a torch light.
It measures 105.2 x 44.15 x 16.4mm, has a 1.52-inch screen with a resolution of 65K CSTN (128x128), comes with 1 MB of user memory.
The phone offers Mobile Tracker, a standard feature in many Samsung phones which automatically alerts when the SIM card is changed or sends out an SOS message in an emergency.
Apart from the above, the Solar Guru also offers the very Indianized feature called "Mobile prayer". This comprises of various religious prayers and wall papers.
Price:
The Samsung Solar Guru (Samsung Guru 1107) is priced at Rs. 2799.
Following its introduction in India, the Solar Guru is being launched in various markets including Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and Latin America in June 2009.