Samsung Unveils Solar-Powered Phone

Samsung unveiled the world’s first solar-powered mobile phone on Monday at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona, Spain.

The touch-screen “Blue Earth” is made from recycled plastic and can be powered by a solar panel as well as a conventional plug-in charger for indoor use. 

The company displayed its new phone to interested crowds at Mobile World Congress.  The event, which runs from Monday through Thursday, is the world’s biggest mobile phone show, bringing together 60,000 industry insiders from 1,200 firms, according to the GSM Association, the show’s organizers.  All the major network operators such as China Mobile, Vodafone and MTN are present, as well as leading handset makers.

Industry insiders at the event praised Blue Earth’s mini solar panels located on the back of the device.

"This type of device would be ideal for developing markets where workers have long hours and don’t have access to electricity," Nick Lane, chief researcher at Direct2 Mobile, told AFP.

"It would also interest consumers with an eye on the ‘green’ aspects, or companies and their CSR (corporate social responsibility) programs,” he said.

The phone will launch initially in Europe during the second half of this year, the South Korea-based company said.  However, the new device will be a mid to high-end handset, likely above the price range for a worker in the developing world.

The phone can be charged via an electrical outlet, with the solar panels used to extend its power.  A full charge will take up to 14 hours in the sun and will offer roughly four hours of talk time.

Rival manufacturer LG Electronics also unveiled an unnamed prototype solar-powered handset, but did not announce a launch date for the device.

Acer, a computer manufacturer from Taiwan and a new entrant into the mobile handset market, unveiled its initial series of high-end phones, with the first four models due to launch this spring and another six handsets to follow, marketing manager Sylvia Pan told AFP.  The touch-screen handsets, which can connect to the Internet via wifi or with a high-speed mobile network, were demonstrated mostly in black, and had a design similar to that of Apple Inc.’s iPhone. 

The announcements at the event highlight two current industry trends:  the appeal of the high-end smartphone market and the entrance of laptop computer makers into the segment.

Indeed, laptop manufacturer Toshiba already makes handsets, and there is speculation that rival Dell is planning to launch a range of high-end smartphones that will allow users to surf the Web, view videos and send emails.

Market research group Gartner Inc. estimates that sales of mobile handsets will fall this year for the first time, although demand for high-end devices is set to increase. 

Despite the new product launches and announcements of various industry initiatives, concerns about the global economic slowdown were palpable at the event.  And cost reductions and survival are now a central theme in an industry that has become accustomed to consistent growth.

In a separate announcement on Monday, Chinese manufacturer Huawei unveiled the second mobile handset to integrate Google’s Android operating system.

"We’re going to launch the phone at the end of the year, mainly in Europe," Huawei’s press officer, Meddy Lu, told AFP. 

The first phone to incorporate Android was the G1, launched last October by Taiwan-based group HTC in partnership with German network operator T-Mobile.

Google, Microsoft and Nokia have been battling for the top position in the market for mobile handset operating systems.   

The GSM Association plans to announce a number of industry initiatives to develop new projects and improve standardization.

On Monday, it said that 60 mobile phone operators had partnered to develop "chat" capabilities for subscribers, with the goal of allowing mobile phone users to see awhich of the contacts in their address book is available, and allow them to instant message with a system that would transfer videos and photos.  Initial versions of the service are set to launch in the second half of 2009.  Although such chat programs are now available for mobile phones, they are not yet synchronized with users’ address books. 

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