Kenya's Safaricom, in tandem with Chinese manufacturer ZTE, has launched a solar-powered cell phone made from recyclable materials, according to Bloomberg.
The company claims the phone is rechargeable using the sun's rays, which is a pretty amazing trick since solar panels just haven't been all that efficient. For example, the cool Iqua 603 SUN Bluetooth headset can maintain a standby charge virtually indefinitely. But it depletes just like a normal headset when in actual use, and requires an AC adapter to charge when fully drained.
Nonetheless, the article points out that many cell phone users in Africa don't have any access to electricity and have to walk into town to charge cell phones--Kenya has 17.6 million subscribers but just 1.3 million are connected to the national electricity grid.
This follows Samsung's release earlier this year of two separate models, the Blue Earth and the Crest Solar, though none of these handsets are slated for U.S. release just yet.
pc mag
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