Samsung's Blue Earth solar phone is ultra-green
(Credit:
Samsung/Inhabitat)
I have a few friends (who shall remain nameless) who are often unreachable because they don't charge their phones when they should. These same friends should look into the new Samsung Blue Earth, which is to be unveiled in a couple days at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The phone is green, despite its blue color, and it's not just the integrated solar panels that make it so. The Blue Earth is made of recycled plastic, features a pedometer, and even software that reaffirms just how much you're helping the planet by using it. If Al Gore had one of these mobile devices in hand, it would likely explode.
Besides being handy and eco-friendly, the phone appears to be gorgeous. The solar panels reside on the back, and the front is a full touch screen. Despite the new technologies, it should fit nicely in your pocket. We should know more about pricing and availability next week.
Another group that might find this phone attractive would be those crazy outdoorsy types: campers, hunters, fish enthusiasts, and other sportsmen could extend their trips into the wilderness while remaining in contact with the outside world in case of emergencies. We'd like to see other phones with practical solar panels just for this.
With more than 15 years experience testing hardware (and being obsessed with it), Crave freelance writer Matt Hickey can tell the good gadgets from the great. He also has a keen eye for future technology trends. Matt has blogged for publications including TechCrunch, CrunchGear, and most recently, Gizmodo. E-mail Matt. 
In addition to the outdoorsy types (campers, hunters, etc.), I can see it being useful for:
1. people in developing countries that may not always have easy access to an electric outlet.
2. travelers who forgot their chargers.
why would it explode in Al Gores pocket? He is one of the biggest hypocrites among the environmental dogma priesthood.
Even if global warming were not a problem, do you think it is still OK to keep polluting the air, not recycling trash, etc....forever? I don't want to deal with your pollution & trash any more than I expect you to deal with my pollution & trash.
"Green" products help to raise people's awareness about their environment and the effect they have on it. That can only be a good thing.
The reason businesses haven't pursued solar power further is expense and the fact that products last a million years (no turnover), just like my old (new-like) calculator.
I agree that it needs an ultra low power consumption screen.
When will they put in some useful features - Like remote control for TV - garage door opener - heart rate monitor and such. My mobile has dozens of gimmicks I don't use. What about a pedometer ? A personal tracker that could be programmed between two phones.
Even an egg timer would be more use than some of the stuff on my Nokia !
My schedule is so hectic in the last few months I am always forgetting to bring my charger or even if I have it I forget to plug it in. This would be very handy. It would charge while I am talking on it or forget it on the counter.
If someone doesn't do this, I AM!
AND YES I NEED SOME SLEEP!
hope someone at samsung reads this, cuz their gadgets are pretty good but they need solutions that anyone would use, not just the greenish guys, cuz solar cells don't come cheap, much less on a cell phone.
- by marktaff November 16, 2009 4:19 AM PST
- I hope nobody is falling for mikedrud's nonsense. You cannot use a calculator as any kind on meaningful comparison to a cell phone. Consider a battery-powered TI BA II Plus circa 1996. It has a 220mAh 3VDC CR2032 battery, and draws 60x10^(-6)A (60 micro-amps). Doing the math (0.00018 watts), that calculator will operate at full bore, fingers furiously flying across the keypad, 24-7 for 152 days straight before the battery dies. That 1996 calculator of mine is still on its first battery, mind you. ;-)
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(29 Comments)Does that at all sound comparable to a cell phone that has anywhere from a 900mAh to a 2100 mAh battery (4-10 times as much charge), but will only last for a few hours of hard use before dying? Of course not.
Consider a bright summer day in Oregon. Ground level insolation will be about 0.38 watts per square inch, best case. Suppose the solar cell was rather good, at about 19% efficiency, and the phone is held perfectly normal to the angle of incidence, with zero reflectivity, etc. Then each square inch of cell would generate about 0.072 watts. If the cell is 2"x4", then it will produce about a half a watt. That is enough to power the antenna, if you aren't that far from a tower. Course, there wouldn't be any power to dial, or to power the display, or heck, to even modulate your voice.
Kudos to the Samsung engineers for working to improve their products. Let's not belittle their accomplishments by trivializing them, and comparing a mobile device with a calculator is just that.