Solar phones a reality

Solar powered mobile phones made from recycled plastic bottles are being launched by Samsung. The Blue Earth phone is the first solar powered phone in history. In a parallel to Trevor Baylis’ innovative and quite brilliant wind up radio which is widely used in the third world. Samsung claims that the phone’s solar panels can deliver enough power to enable users to make a call anytime anywhere. ZTE, a Chinese company, have teamed up with Digicel and Invitation, a Dutch start-up company, and the consortium are also launching a solar powered phone specifically for developing countries. The handset will be priced at £15 and initially launched in the Caribbean and the South Pacific.  It also seems that the major manufacturers including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG have agreed to start shipping a universal charger meaning less waste when users change phones and the new charger will also be more energy efficient than current models.